No Regrets this Time Around
by AProcrastinatingWriter
Summary: For the other four men, time-travel was a golden opportunity to do good things and save people from evil. But for Sasuke, it was even more than that: it was a second chance at life, and at love. Main: SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaTema. Crack:GaaIno.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, a quick question...what would you do if it started literally raining cats and dogs?

Hello, this is AProcrastinatingWriter with yet another time-travel fanfic to add to this section's huge collection. Yes, I know, I'm utterly unoriginal. Oh well! I still like the idea.

...and yes, you read right on the way in: Gaara and Ino. I admit it's an odd pairing that will almost definitely never happen in canon, but I find the idea intriguing. And you must find it at least tolerable, considering you clicked on the link to this fic.

A word of warning: the following chapter contains scenes of intense violence. If you watched Dragonball Z or any show with equal-level violence, though, you should be okay. And if not: the first chapter sets up the rest of the plot, but isn't vitally important to the plot in itself. If I write correctly, then one should be able to edit out Chapter One and still get a cohesive story. So if worse comes to worst, skip it.

Also: slight spoilers for chapters in the manga just a little ahead of where the Japanese anime is, perhaps a bit further, but not quite up to where the manga currently is. You dizzy yet? No? Then keep reading. You'll likely just get more confused if you don't already know what's going on. And if you do know what's going on, you'll probably just be able to tell me how wrong I am about the sequence of events that actually happened in the manga.

Now you can start reading! Yay!

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**CHAPTER ONE**

**THE WORLD'S LONGEST PROLOGUE**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR FINAL CLIMACTIC BATTLES WITH COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF MELODRAMA**

**

* * *

**It was the final stand of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The battle had raged on for several hours, and people had died as a result of it. Civilians had died as a result of it. _Children_ had died_. _Tsunade, and Tenten, and Chōji, and Sai were all dead. Matsuri was unconscious, and Gaara, who had taken a metaphorical bullet for her, was bleeding and near death. Temari and Kankuro were alive and conscious, but not doing all that much better. Shizune, a hole in her upper shoulder and blood leaking from her mouth, was right next to Gaara, attempting to heal him, and yet she could almost swear the healing jutsu was making things worse.

Those who hadn't been mortally injured were still in pretty bad shape. Sakura had lost the use of both of her badly burnt arms, but that hadn't stopped her from doing all she could. Neji was badly bleeding and several of his ribs were broken, but his body had not gone into shock. His mind had taken care of that for him when he saw Tenten, his _wife_, exploding, atom by atom. And thanks to his Byakugan, he had seen every agonizing detail of her death in the worst way possible.

Rock Lee wished he could open his Eighth Gate, but he couldn't even open his first. His own chakra, which had been stored up heavily in own body over his lifetime thanks to his inability to use it, was now being used as chains to keep him from getting off the ground. Or even moving. Lee was lucky, though, as the majority of people on the battlefield were dead. Some were 'merely' heavily injured. And only three had managed to avoid almost all injury (or capture) altogether.

The first, and the one in best shape, was the single man who had singlehandedly destroyed almost all resisting ninja in his way, one at a time: Madara Uchiha, who was now heavily unbalanced thanks to the new influx of phenomenally dark power he received, shifting from calm and mirthless to manic, loud, and shrill at the drop of hat. Finally, with all nine Tailed Beasts in his possession, he had been able to reform the chakra of the great Ten-Tailed Beast. But he had been forced to reform it too early, and absorb it into himself, thanks to the interference of the 'cursed' Leaf Village. And honestly, that was the only thing that had saved any of the shinobi fighting him so far: the fact that it wasn't nighttime yet. As soon as it was nighttime, the darkest of the Uchiha (and that is saying something) would use his Infinite Tsukuyomi on the moon, and that would be the end of that.

The second was the other surviving Uchiha, who had recently (and long-past the appropriate time) managed to finally put the broken pieces of his psyche back together. He was still awaiting trial, but on the off-chance any of them managed to survive this battle, he would probably receive heavy leniency on the grounds of A) Insanity brought on by an unstable mind finally being pushed over the edge by curse mark and B) Saving the freaking world. Though he would also probably still serve some time; after all, the whole 'leaving the village for power' thing was a conscious choice on his part. Or at least, it was until he got into the coffin and was infected with dark powers.

The third person, who by all accounts should not have been alive at that point in time, was Naruto Uzumaki. He was the most heavily injured of the three, and yet he was the one who had taken the least damage in battle. Even less than Madara. Naruto had received his injury when he had the Nine-Tailed Fox forcibly torn out from his stomach by Madara's jutsu, and it really should have killed him. Yet, through sheer willpower, and chakra of his own comparable to that of the Kyuubi, Naruto had survived, and had been one of the first to overcome the fearful aura sent off by the visible black chakra now surrounding the evildoer and attack. He was also the first person to really injure Madara in several decades, as he was surprised by the unexpected attack.

So now, Naruto and one of his best friends/one of his worst enemies were some of the last people truly able to face down a being who possessed the power of a primordial demon on top of his own vast powers and nigh-immortality. A being who had slaughtered hundreds upon hundreds of people to accomplish his goals, and showed no remorse for doing so. A being of such power and fearsome jutsu that bending space and time to his will were child's play.

And, since Naruto had made several promises to stop the mad Uchiha and was more angry than he had ever been in his entire life and Sasuke was determined to atone for his many sins and had a few dark powers of his own to call on, it was almost an even fight.

"MADARA!" screeched Sasuke, high-speed-dashing towards the figure. In his left hand was a Chidori the size of a boulder, the largest he had ever made. Perhaps his last one.

Madara did not react until the last split-second he possibly could have. In that split second, he punched Sasuke in the chest six times, copying the small amount of high-speed jutsu he had Sharin-stolen from Lee. Sasuke staggered backwards, flinching slightly. The blows were superficial ones, but they were also painful enough that Sasuke lost his concentration, his Chidori fading quickly in a small, silent burst of lightning. "Pathetic," said Madara in a quiet voice that echoed off the faraway mountains they were fighting in the extra-long shade of. The sun would go down in less than an hour, and the moon would be fully visible. That would be the endgame."You leave yourself wide open."

"SO DO YOU!" shouted a voice behind the man. He half-turned before getting punched, hard, in the jaw. He felt a couple of teeth loosen, but they tightened again quickly thanks to his healing evil chakra. Since he was off-balance, he quickly used that chakra to smack Naruto away, then formed it into tentacles that grabbed at Naruto and tried to smash him into the ground.

Though he technically succeeded, the Naruto quickly burst into a puff of smoke. A clone. Madara turned as the next second passed, barely managing to intercept Sasuke's fist. He smirked under his mask. "Amatseru," he said simply.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he leapt away. _-When did he learn how...-_Then, he looked down at where he landed. "What the..." he began, alarmed, as Chōji's blood, very near Chōji's body, had suddenly risen up and hardened, pinning him to that spot on the ground. "What's going on here?" he asked, struggling.

Madara chuckled." You fell for it," he said simply. Then he raised his hand. "Ninja Art...Instant Death Jutsu!"

_-The justu he used on Tenten!-_ thought Sasuke, panicked. He struggled to free himself for something significantly less than a second before suddenly exploding in a puff of smoke.

He reappeared very nearby, hidden behind a rock with Naruto. The clone Naruto had commanded to use Substitution Jutsu with Sasuke suddenly burst into millions of balls of white light, each of which then immolated. The flames that resulted from this widened, forming together into an explosion that destroyed several of the dead bodies nearby, including Chōji's. "You alright, Sasuke?" asked Naruto, barely restrained anger in his voice.

Sasuke looked over to the blond-haired 22-year old. "Yeah...thanks," he said. Ten years ago, and in fact not until recently, he never would have done that. But time had changed Sasuke for the better...and had changed everything else for the worse.

Madara cracked his neck. "Come, now," he said, looking around. "You're making this..." And he zeroed in on the rock. "...TOO EASY!" And he laughed maniacally, opening a portal that led to the center of a faraway erupting volcano. It wasn't like Madara to laugh maniacally. More signs of how the power he'd received had opened up whole new level of madness for him to delve down into.

The lava shot forward, cutting a graft into the continent it was on. Sasuke and Naruto crouched in the belly of the Mountain Toad, feeling the intense heat but not dying thanks to its heat-resistant body. "Well, this is gross," grumbled Sasuke. "But I guess it's better than dying."

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I need time to summon up the Sage chakra," he said. "Think you can hold him off?"

"No," responded Sasuke, standing up. "But I can sure as heck try."

Naruto nodded, unsummoning the mound of flesh. It, presumably, went back into the body of the being it had come from. Madara slowly lowered his hand. "Aha," he said. "Perhaps this won't be so little of a challenge after all..."

Sasuke prepared himself for battle as Naruto slowly backed up, mentally preparing himself to stand perfectly still for a very long time. Another voice, weakened and failing but still there, suddenly came from under the ground near Madara. "Perhaps not," it said, as two hands reached up from under the earth, grabbing the elder Uchiha by the ankles. "In fact, I can almost guarantee it!"

Madara looked down, then shot his tentacles straight into the ground beneath him. A scream of pain was heard as Madara drew up the body, bringing the leaf shinobi to eye level.

"SHINO!" shouted Naruto, scared. Too many of his friends had been hurt already.

"Go!" shouted Shino, blood oozing from his freshest wound. "Regroup! I'll hold him off!"

"No, Shino..." mumbled Naruto, then running forward. Sasuke grabbed his arm and pulled him back. They suddenly disappeared, as if they were pictures being burnt away by fire. "SHINO!" shouted Naruto again as they disappeared completely.

Madara chuckled again. "So, your friends have _abandoned_ you!" And he tossed Shino away on the emphasized word. Then, from some other dimension, he drew two swords, each one sinisterly curved. Shino stood up in a weird way, a blank look on his face. Madara blinked, once. _-I see,-_ he said to himself, staring at Shino'sunflinching features and wide-opened mouth. _-He is already dead. But as his final act, he ordered his bugs to take control of his corpse and fight me.- _He chuckled as he got into his fighting stance. _-How very...heh heh heh...-_ And he dropped the fighting stance, rushing forward whilst he swung his swords haphazardly and his blackened chakra rapidly increased in size. Shino's body burst forward, leaving the trail of bugs that propelled it behind him. "WHAT FUN! HAH HAH HAH HAH!" Madara laughed as his opponent delivered several quick, precise punches. They all passed through harmlessly.

The villain was suddenly all business again, slashing Shino multiple times with his swords. Where he slashed bugs burst out, chomping at Madara's chakra. Suddenly, the bugs attacking paused in their flight. Several seconds passed. Then, almost simultaneously, they all fell to the ground, dead. Apparently Madara's chakra was like poison to them. He cackled again. "Too easy!" he laughed, swinging again with his sword.

**0-0-0-0**

"So," said Sasuke, smirking slightly a couple of miles away. "You prefer Shino over me, huh?" He asked, referring to the fact that Naruto had been willing to let Sasuke fight Madara, but not Shino. He closed his eyes, tilting his head resignedly to the side. "Can't say I blame you."

"Shino..." said Naruto. He closed his own eyes and shook his head. "Shino can't handle him...you could."

"...I doubt that," Sasuke said, opening his eyes again. He turned to Naruto. "But you, Naruto? You're the one...the _only_ one who can."

"...thanks for the acknowledgment," Naruto mumbled halfheartedly. He sighed, sitting down. "Guess I've got to get started." He looked up at Sasuke. "Protect me, alright?"

Sasuke looked down at him. "How on Earth can you trust me?" he asked.

"Beats me," said a limping Kiba, walking up to the two at the meeting place proposed long before the battle began. Akamaru was not there, as he had been buried alive. Kiba would be upset about this, but in battle you don't get that luxury. Especially when battling Madara Uchiha. He could mourn later, and maybe be angry now. "I know I don't trust you nearly as far as I could throw you." He winced, suddenly grabbing his shoulder.

"Now's not the time," said Neji from behind him, walking over the crest of the hill the three were standing on. Hinata was beside him, heavily bruised and looking worried. Neji was feeling the same things as Kiba at the moment, though he had a much easier time controlling his emotions. Still, losing Tenten hurt more than his flesh wounds ever could. "Enemy or ally, friend or enemy, whether we forgive him or kill him where he stands...all of that can wait." He stopped, narrowing his eyes, while at the same time Gaara and Temari walked into the picture, Temari carrying an unconscious Kankuro and Gaara an unconscious Matsuri. "Right now, he is a powerful weapon, on our side, in a fight against a nearly insurmountable enemy."

Kiba stared for a few seconds, breathing deeply. "...yeah, alright," he said, finally conceding the truth of Neji's words. He turned to Sasuke, his own eyes narrowing now. "But I don't like it."

Sasuke, meanwhile, had turned to the three sand ninja. "...what is it?" he asked, seeing the look on Temari's face.

She smiled, though it was only half of one and didn't seem all that real. "My fan broke...so did all of Kankuro's puppets." She looked over at Gaara. "And Gaara...he..."

"Shizune used the last of her chakra to heal me," he said. "She's gone." And while the news sunk in, he looked down slightly. "For the second time, someone else has died, so that I may live." And he let those words sink in as well.

Naruto was attempting to stay still. It was extremely hard to do with the blood and fire and death everywhere, and nearly impossible after receiving bad news on top of bad news on top of bad news. Still, he concentrated. He had to gather up that natural energy, otherwise more people would die. And he couldn't risk Shadow Clones to gather more; he needed all the extra chakra he could get if he was going to execute the one plan he thought could stop Madara, and hopefully stop him before sunset.

Kakashi showed up next, carrying an unconscious Ino. They both looked as if they'd been struck by lightning. Coincidentally, they had been. Everyone minus Naruto looked at the Copy-Ninja, all asking the same question with pleading eyes: Where is Guy? Kakashi, as a response, simply shook his head.

More bad news came with the arrival of Shikamaru, who slowly rose up, appearing in Temari's shadow. The 'Shadow Movement Jutsu', one of his own creation. His family was extremely proud of him for developing it. They'd be less proud if they knew he only designed it so he could get from place to place with much less effort. "Bad news, guys," he said, looking around at his teammates. "I tried to save Lee," he said. "But the old dude caught up to me. I was barely able to escape, but I'm sure he'll catch up soon." He scratched behind his head. "I'd have tried to lead him away, but I'm pretty sure he's headed after Naruto no matter what. As for Lee..." he paused. "I can't honestly say I have any idea what's happened to him. He could be dead, he could still be chained up but alive, he might even have managed to escape on his own. I dunno."

Naruto was struggling in his lack-of-movements. In the sad, sad silence after all these announcements, his horrified brain got angrier and angrier, nervous energy straining against his muscles, begging to be released in Madara's general direction. Everyone, Naruto included, was nervous of more bad news, and yet they still wished it would come. After all, for bad news to come, there must be a messenger. And a messenger means an ally.

"So," said Sasuke after several minutes, drawing his own sword. "That's it, then."

"Right," said Neji as he nodded. He got into battle position.

"Mm," said Hinata, getting into battle position as well, facing a different direction.

Kiba snorted. "He'll pay..." he mumbled, turning off in his own direction and getting ready.

"We're all that's left of the Leaf Village," said Kakashi, gently setting Ino down. He turned in his own direction as well, though his eyes focused on Gaara as he got into stance. "And the many ninja of the Sand. Sorry for dragging you into this."

Gaara waited for a bit before answering, searching in his brain for the proper way to phrase his answer. "If we had not come in to help," he said as Temari set Kankuro down, "We would eventually have been put in danger anyway. Madara will not stop until the world is under his control." He looked down at the girl in his arms. "I won't let that happen to my people." He closed his eyes as he gently lay her upon the grassy terrain. "I will fight. And it will be my choice, not yours."

"Mine, too," said Temari, getting in the best taijutsu pose she could muster. "I'll fight to the bitter end."

Shikamaru sighed. "I was wrong before, every time I've said this." He pinched his fingers around the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. "This. This is a drag." Despite his words, he still turned to his own direction.

Eight ninja, one facing in every direction. Naruto at the center of their circle. Their mission, their last and most important mission, had been wordlessly given to each one of them. Once Madara came, protect Naruto at all costs. Do not let him be moved. And run down the clock until Sage Mode could be reached. Then, optionally, survive.

It was a vitally important mission. And, despite the optional condition, probably not one they'd live through. So focus was needed. It was vital. And yet, at a time like this, one could not help but let their mind wander. "So," asked Sasuke, voice cracking slightly. "Any regrets besides mine in this circle?"

"A lot," said Kakashi. "Too many to mention."

Temari's face softened. "I wish...I'd gotten married sooner." And she looked to her left, at Shikamaru, her fiancee. Shikamaru smiled a sad smile at her.

"So do I," said Hinata, and then she stiffened, as if she had not meant to say that out loud. If he'd had a choice, Naruto would have grinned at this.

Gaara sighed. "I wish...I'd found someone to love me." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, making sure he took a mental note of this.

Kiba smirked despite his inner turmoil. "Hate to be a buzzkill," he said ironically, "But if I could do it all again, I don't think I'd change a thing."

"..." said Neji, in his usual way.

Sasuke smiled despite himself. "Well...I"m glad at least one of us is happy."

"Me too," said a voice from directly above them. Everyone looked up. Nothing was there, and that Nothing was speaking. "That way I don't feel too bad about killing you!"

And then, with another bout of crazed laughter, the main antagonist dropped from the Nowhere in the sky, impacting the ground just behind the ninja at the center of the ring and sending everyone but Gaara and the meditating Naruto flying off in their various directions. Gaara quickly shot his hand forward, his vast amounts of sand imitating his technique and rushing forward to "punch" his target.

Madara waved his hand across the sand, creating a ball of chakra in the middle of it. All the sand was suddenly pulled into the ball, moving itself into the center in the densest way possible. All the sand in Gaara's gourd followed. "What?" Gaara murmured, surprised. His sand was not obeying him. This was a new and a very unpleasant situation. The sand his gourd was made from now broke apart and went the same way, as did his Sand Armor shortly after that. "NO!"

"You are defenseless," said Madara as the sand in the sphere hardened itself further. Soon, it was no longer sand, but a large rock. "So it is time for me to finish what I started!" and he shot the boulder forward. Gaara barely dodged, then pulled out a kunai from within his robe. Madara brought up his other hand quickly. "Speeding Shockwave Jutsu!" he shouted.

"Gah!" shouted Gaara as the aforementioned shockwave struck him, sending him skidding down the hill he was standing on. It also struck Naruto, but he did not flinch (though he really wanted to).

Madara, his work with Gaara finished, raised his bloodstained sword (his other one still stuck inside Shino's body) into the air and began bringing it sideways, intending to slice Naruto's head off in one fell swoop. He suddenly crouched down, seeming to both hunker and stumble at the same time. He looked behind him. Shikamaru smiled. "Shadow Possession: Complete," he said, lying on the ground where he'd fallen from the initial attack. The shadow-type jutsu wasn't anywhere near strong enough to hold Madara in the same position as Shikamaru, but it was strong enough to throw him off.

"PEST!" cried Madara, sending out several tendrils of evil chakra to attack Shikamaru. Shikamaru released the possession as he dodged, putting a little extra 'oomph' in at the last second to drive the Uchiha off balance even more. Kakashi came in next, copying Sakura's jutsu as best as he could. He punched where Madara was standing, but the blow was dodged and all Kakashi succeeded in doing was creating a large crack in the ground. Well, that and getting Madara away from Naruto, which was the real plan.

"Tunneling Fang!" shouted Kiba, rushing towards his opponent. "This is for Akamaru!" he shouted as he began spinning. He drilled towards his opponent, face full of rage though no one could see it. Madara simply phased the attack through him as he stepped forward. Kiba turned and attempted again, this time burrowing straight into the ground and through Madara. He did not put enough force into the move to crack the ground, though, as he wanted to spin exactly where Madara was and not drill downward. He was obviously hoping Madara could only phase-shift for a moment or two, but this was instantly proven wrong as the man stayed at the center of the spinning storm for several seconds before stepping forward again. Obviously mocking Kiba's 'ineffectiveness'.

"Pitiful," said Madara, not faltering in his step as he blocked a high kick from Temari, then grabbed her ankle and charged her with dark chakra. "Truly pitiful!"

"AAAH!" she screamed as Madara pushed the evil chakra into her body, poisoning her system in the most painful way possible.

"Temari!" shouted Shikamaru. He rushed forward, forgetting about strategy and his justu and simultaneously showing he cared about Temari greatly; enough to make him stupid when she was in danger. "You let go of her, you son of a-"

Madara turned, bringing an unconscious Temari down on Shikamaru like a club. Shikamaru took a few steps back, grunting. "HERE!" shouted Madara, throwing the fan-wielding sand kunoichi into the stunned Shikamaru's arms. "Take her!"

Shikamaru fell backwards, holding tightly onto his bride-to-be. "Temari..." he mumbled, dazed, as he looked at her. He suddenly looked startled."W-what the-"

Temari glowed black for a moment, and then all of the dark chakra that had been forced into her was forced back out, sending both her and Shikamaru flying again. Surprisingly, he manged to stay conscious even though he was flung back several feet.

Kakashi chose this time to re-enter the fray with a "Double Lightning Blade!" The Uchiha phased through both, simultaneously backhanding Kakashi in the face. Hard. Team Seven's sensei went down to the ground, struggled for a few seconds to get up, and finally fell unconscious as well. Normally (though Madara's punches were strong) that one punch wouldn't have been enough, but Kakashi had barely stayed awake as was through Madara's own lightning attack.

Kiba leapt onto Madara's back, intending to attack in the most feral ways he could think of. Before he could sink his claws or teeth into his 'prey', he suddenly gasped and fell off, choking. "What's the matter?" asked Madara mockingly. "You don't like the taste of my chakra?"

As the four ninja who had been knocked off the hill and therefore needed to climb back up returned, Madara raised his boot and brought it down on Kiba's head. Kiba gave off a scream of pain, then growled at Madara. Then he suddenly smiled, grabbing the fiend's boot. "Gotcha!" he said. "Tunneling fang!"

"Guh," said Madara simply as he was spun right along with Kiba, who was smirking though no one could see it. Kiba stopped spinning after letting Madara go. Madara kept right on spinning through the air.

"Hinata!" shouted Kiba. "Plan 13!"

"Right!" said Hinata, jumping forward. She landed, getting into Gentle Fist stance. "Eight trigrams," she began.

Madara's chakra, that jack of all trades that it was, suddenly burst outwards, sending Hinata and Kiba rolling along the ground. He managed to stop spinning and landed, chakra guiding him to the correct position, on the ground. Neji was there to meet him. "This is for what you did to Tenten," he said through gritted teeth. "EIGHT TRIGRAMS...360 PALMS!"

"GAAAAH!" screamed Madara as Neji's attacks actually made contact. Three hundred and sixty attacks, with pinpoint accuracy and painful to boot. Neji paused momentarily in his sound-speed onslaught, just long enough for a visibly quivering Madara to try and regain his balance.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Plus one," he whispered, before delivering a final strike to Madara Uchiha's chest.

The villain made no sound this time, merely falling over onto the ground. A few seconds passed in which no one spoke, for they were awed. As the stunned silence continued, the dark chakra visibly surrounding Madara began fading away, slowly but surely. "Did...you just..." mumbled Kiba. Then he broke into a wide grin. "Dude, you beat him! That was so awesome!"

Neji breathed outward. "It's done," he murmured. He turned to Naruto. "You can stop meditating now. Thanks to Kiba and Hinata creating an opening, I was able to deliver the finishing blow."

"What kind of attack was that?" asked Sasuke, stepping closer but keeping a wary eye on Madara.

Neji closed his eyes, trying to hold in the sorrow he was feeling until he left the battlefield. "A last resort. The Eight Trigrams 361 Palms technique blocks off every single chakra point in an opponent's body. Without chakra, you die." He opened his eyes again, now suitably under control. "Simple as that."

Gaara sighed. "So...the battle's finally over."

"I won't feel comfortable until Naruto stops meditating," said Shikamaru, attempting to hide the pain he felt at losing so many trusted friends and allies. Everyone else was doing the same thing. "Could you get up, buddy? You're making me nervous." Well, except Sasuke. Sasuke was-

"LOOK OUT!" shouted Sasuke, pushing Neji out of the way.

"Blinding Flash Jutsu!" shouted Madara, who was now standing, Ten-Tailed Beast's chakra surrounding him again. A thin, purple "layer" of energy was in front of him, styled to look like a pupil and eyelashes. A laser beam shot out of the pupil.

Sasuke's scream was drowned out by the noise of the laser, which was too loud and high-pitched to be heard by human ears. "SASUKE!" shouted several people there.

Sasuke slowly reached up and grasped his right arm. It was badly burnt along its edge. "Ow..." he said, his turn to grit his teeth.

Madara lowered his hand. "Sorry about that. Looks like I grazed you with that attack. Oh well. At least most of it was taken by my true target."

"AAAH!" screamed Hinata, who had just seen the condition Neji was in. Everyone turned to look.

Neji was lying on the ground, eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. His left arm was completely gone, leaving a clean cut approximately where it would have met his shoulder had it still been there. Neji slowly reached up with his right arm, grabbing his left shoulder as his face contorted in excruciating pain. "Ergh...argh...ARGH! AAAH!" Neji's shouts increased in frequency and intensity as his brain slowly came to terms with what had just happened. He writhed in pain on the ground, screaming in ways that are impossible to recreate through text.

Hinata rushed over to help her cousin, whom she called: "Brother!"

Sasuke was used to seeing carnage like this. Heck, he had _caused_ carnage like this. So he was mostly unfazed. "Not that I'm surprised or anything, but how did you manage to survive that attack?"

"I must admit," said Gaara in his usual tone, though his eyes kept glancing over to Neji. "I am curious as well..."

"Oh, quite simple, really," said Madara. "You see, Neji did almost have me, I admit that. But he paused before sealing off that final chakra point, and in that second or so I rerouted my chakra so it would take a different path through my network."

"So, in the end, he only ended up sealing a single chakra point of yours." Shikamaru said, as our heroes moved back into battle stances. "Then all you had to do was play possum..."

"And now your friend has been, shall we say, severely short-handed," finished Madara. He began laughing, long, loud, and not very lucidly.

Hinata looked up angrily. She had just finished Gentle-Fist styling the blood vessels and veins in Neji's "arm" shut so he wouldn't bleed to death, along with the nerves in his left shoulder so he wouldn't feel the pain of it. Neji was gasping and panting too much to even say 'thank you', though he really wanted to. "You monster," Hinata said, getting back on her feet. "How can you even joke about that?"

"What's the matter?" asked Madara. "I thought you Leaf Village types just LOVED the monologing and witty banter!" And he began laughing again.

"That's it," said Kiba. "Let's take this guy OUT!"

Sasuke charged forward, sword first. Hinata had one of her palms reared back and Byakugan ready as she ran forward. Kiba was, of course, using his Tunneling Fang. Shikamaru was using Asuma's old blades (which he only pulled out for special occasions), reach extended by chakra. And Gaara was stuck with a kunai, since he had lost his sand.

With their various distances and angles and terrain and running speeds, they all arrived at Madara at about the same time. Unfortunately for them, he suddenly stopped laughing and moved his hands into the 'Ox' (or 'Ushi') position. "Odinson Jutsu," he murmured softly. Though there were no clouds in the sky before, during, or after the jutsu, several spears of lightning suddenly shot straight down, striking where the shinobi were at and sending them flying back, shouting in pain. Except for Sasuke, who gritted his teeth and kept moving forward.

"Kusanagi Sword: Chidori Blade!" shouted Sasuke, bringing the sword down and aiming for Madara's head as it sparked with bright electricity. Likely Madara's own attack helped it. The odler of the two Uchihas simply reached up and grabbed Sasuke's hand. "Huh?" Sasuke started. He could not move his hand. "Grr...come on...come on!"

"Like I said before," said Madara in a dangerously low tone, "You leave yourself wide open."

As with Temari before him, Sasuke got to feel what it was like to have evil forced into every molecule of your body. "AAAAAAAAH!" he screamed. Madara eventually tossed him away with a flick of the wrist. Unlike Temari, Sasuke did not fall unconscious.

"I'm done playing around with you pathetic schoolchildren," said Madara, now seeming much saner and much more dangerous than he had only moments before. "There's only a couple of minutes left until sunset. I don't have any more time to waste. My plans will come to fruition tonight." He clenched his fists. "There is nothing you can do to stop it." The 'schoolchildren' he spoke of slowly got up, anger on their faces.

Suddenly, a cough was heard. Everyone, including Madara, turned to look. Neji was slowly, falteringly, standing up as well. "You're right," he said, pain evident in a voice that was muffled, and rightfully so considering the blood coming from his mouth. It was obvious he was now near-death too. "I see that now. We can't stop you." He paused for a moment, then turned and pointed at Naruto. "But him? He can. He _will._ I know he will." He turned back. "Even if we all die here, you will not be able to defeat him, Madara. I am certain of that."

Everyone else on the good side grinned. Except Gaara, who merely had a small, knowing smile on his face. "I agree with you," he said.

Madara was silent for a short time. "I'm going to kill you all now," he said threateningly. "Past-Present-Future Jutsu!" And suddenly one Madara with a sword became three slightly different-outfitted Madaras with three very different types of swords.

Everyone started. "What the-" began Shikamaru, before being interrupted by a giant blast of purple energy from underneath him. "GAAH!" he shouted as he was sent flying.

The 'past' Madara suddenly dashed forward...though strangely enough, he did so in slow motion. Gaara had suddenly started moving in slow motion, too. They clashed with one another, Past Madara slowly getting back up to regular speed whilst Gaara was stuck in his slower speed.

Everyone else (minus Neji, who was conscious but out of commission) was busy with Future Madara, who had turned into a giant snake that could breathe out the Ten-Tailed's signature Black Chakra. Sasuke lead the charge with Amaterasu, pure black impacting pure black as the others leapt around the two colliding attacks, which seemed to be on equal terms.

Gaara kept his defense up admirably as Past Madara toyed with him, purposefully timing his regular-paced attacks so that Gaara would intercept them in time. Finally, apparently deciding 'enough was enough', Past stabbed Gaara with blinding speed in between his ribs. Gaara snapped back to regular motion, rocking backwards. He gritted his teeth, but did not scream, nor did he cry out.

"Heh, heh, heh," said Past, admiring his handiwork. "Hmm?" The wound he had made wasn't bleeding. It didn't even look right. In fact, it almost looked like a crack...as if..."Your Sand Armor! How did you...?"

"Your attacks," explained Gaara. "They caused a lot of damage to the ground around here. Enough to grind up several of the rocks...and from there, it just took time for me to take the smallest ones and start grinding up the ground beneath our feet."

"I see," said Past, getting ready to start up the slow motion again.

"And then," finished Gaara, "I ground up the boulder you made with my sand." And as if these words were a sign, a wave of that sand suddenly blasted forward out of the ground in front of Gaara and into Past Madara. "Sand Burial!"

"Unh!" said Past Madara as the air was forced out of him. The sand drove and whipped itself around him, indeed burying him like the name implied. Gaara took a deep breath, preparing himself for the finishing blow. Before he could start in with that, though, Past shifted through the shifting sands. "Nice try!" he said, raising his sword. Gaara's sand barely managed to block it, and then they started moving slowly and awkwardly again.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had fought Future's breath to a draw, a dangerous draw wherein dark flames shot everywhere. Kiba was the main attacking force on the snake's body, using Tunneling Fang over and over as his fluctuating chakra and wounds would allow him. Hinata provided backup, distracting the giant beast with pressure strikes that didn't quite reach the chakra points, for its skin was thicker than it appeared.

Sasuke leapt back and bit his thumb. He went through the proper hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" he shouted, slamming his palm into the ground. Three snakes, each one larger than a house and having a bandana wrapped around its upper neck, appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Fight fire with fire, as they say," said Neji, who was nearby and sitting awkwardly on the ground with a small, weary smile.

"Right," said Sasuke as the snakes rushed forward, each one striking with as much speed as it could muster. He suddenly frowned. "Wait a second..."

"What is it?" asked Neji as the other shinobi moved to helping Gaara, as the three larger snakes had Future pinned in a snake-styled wrestling hold.

"This is too easy," said Sasuke. Suddenly, his eye widened. "It's a distraction!" he shouted, turning behind him. "Naruto!"

_-Don't look away,-_ said a telepathic voice behind him. Sasuke turned again, redrawing his chokutō from its sheathe. The giant snake Madara was there, and it almost appeared to be grinning. The three snakes Sasuke had summoned had fallen down, dead from bite wounds to the head and eyes.

Sasuke's cheek muscles rose up, though his mouth stayed neutral. "You guys! Get back to Naruto!" he shouted, attempting to make himself heard above the din.

"What do you think we've been doing?" asked a voice. Sasuke looked over his shoulder, to see Shikamaru kneeled in front of Naruto, Shadow Possession Jutsu used on Gaara to override the slowness spell the Past had cast. Gaara, looking a little stunned and surrounded by sand, was now holding a kunai and had it thrusted forward. Into Past's head.

"...very clever," was all Past said before bursting into pieces, as if he were glass. The pieces were blocked by Gaara's sand.

Gaara was silent a moment. "A little warning next time?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Sorry."

At the same time, and more closely watched by Sasuke (who was using Amaterasu as a shield to keep the giant snake and its chakra at bay and letting Neji use his Byakugan to tell him where it would strike next), the remnants of Team Eight were fighting Madara in the Present. Since they were both primarily taijutsu users and Madara could make himself intangible, they were having little luck. "Come on!" shouted Kiba as Madara walked through yet another of his attacks. "Isn't there anything we can do to stop this guy?"

"He has to become solid to attack," said Hinata. "If we keep trying, we'll at least be able to keep him from hurting Naruto."

Kiba chuckled as Hinata tried another palm strike, which of course passed through harmlessly. "You know, I have to say, this whole situation seems pretty darn familiar!" he shouted as he leapt forward, going for an elbow jab. It, of course, also did not work as Madara kept up his slow walking pace towards the Uzumaki clan member.

Hinata smiled in spite of everything. "You mean my protecting Naruto?" she blushed.

"While everyone else is dead? Yeah, pretty much," said Kiba, who could either make stupid, dark-humored jokes like that or start crying. Jokes were probably better in the heat of battle.

It was at this point in time that Gaara and Shikamaru rejoined them. "How's it going?" Shikamaru asked as the group formed into a defensive line between Madara and Naruto, who was close to having the needed chakra and getting closer every second.

"How's it look like it's going?" asked Kiba. Anger was probably also better than tears. "We're getting our butts kicked."

Hinata looked determined again, as Madara stopped in his tracks. Attempting to phase through all four of them to get to Naruto could easily result in his being walloped as soon as he tried the actual attack. "We're not giving up," said Hinata, the Will of Fire burning in her eyes. "Not now, not ever."

"Right," said Gaara, sand moving into a half-defensive position around him. Shikamaru drew his remaining trench knife. The other two members of their four-man squad were already prepared for attacking and defending.

Madara slowly raised a hand in the air. "Ninja Art," he intoned in a voice brimming with power. "Darkness Drive Jutsu!" His black chakra suddenly fanned outwards, cutting through all the four's defenses and into their flesh. They screamed in pain and renewed terror as the evil mass swirled around them, threatening their lives more and more with every second Madara kept up the attack.

But they did not budge.

Sasuke frowned, wanting to help but not willing to leave Future with a path to Naruto. _-Think!__-_ he thought to himself. _-What to do...what to do...ah! Of course!-_ He turned his attention back to the giant snake, who was currently trying to draw itself into a coil around him. "Hey, Neji."

"What is it?" Neji asked, grateful for any distraction from the thoughts floating through his head.

"Sun's almost down. Naruto had better hurry."

"...indeed," agreed Neji after a few seconds.

Sasuke smirked. "We should help him the best we can." He suddenly looked up. "Fire Style!" he yelled, then took a deep breath.

_-You're finished!- _said Future, rising up to strike. He suddenly roared in pain as Sasuke shot a great bout of fire, shaped like a dragon, from his mouth with such suddenness even the elder Uchiha didn't see it coming. The great beast of fire rose higher and higher into the sky as Neji watched in awe.

Sasuke smiled as the dragon reached the upper atmosphere and exploded. The warmed air became an updraught, and quickly thunder clouds began to form. "Great Dragon Fire Technique," said Sasuke as the first few drops of rain fell.

Everyone looked up at the falling rain. Gaara frowned slightly. "Looks like I'm stuck with kunai again," he said simply. "After all, my sand is too heavy to use when wet." Then, to show he was just joking, Gaara smiled.

Shikamaru, Kiba, and Hinata smiled as well, for the rain had Madara looking up at the sky, and not focusing on performing his jutsu, and therefore not hurting the four. "Well, well," said Shikamaru. "Looks like Sasuke's bought us some more time."

Madara kept looking upwards. His sword fell to the ground along with the rain as it slowly sunk in that his plans had been delayed yet again. Lightning flashed in the sky as he clenched his fists. He took a deep breath in, through his nose and his mask. "Switch," he finally said.

Future suddenly struck past Sasuke at the four guarding Naruto. They dodged out of the way, keeping as close as possible to the blonde as they did so. Meanwhile, the true Madara dashed at Sasuke. "Oh no you don't!" shouted Sasuke, who was almost out of chakra but was no slouch at taijutsu, which Madara now seemed to be using. He dashed forward, sword raised defensively in front of him.

"You'll pay for this, boy!" shouted Madara as his sword suddenly appeared again in his hand from nowhere, another sword appeared in his left, and his chakra formed into several more hands holding swords around him. He attacked with all of them at once.

"To the left!" shouted Neji. Sasuke heeded his advice, receiving some scrapes but otherwise escaping the attack unhamred.

At this exact same time, the Future had knocked away each member of the four man squad and had turned on Naruto. It slithered forward at a rapid speed, intending to devour the boy. Hinata, recovering faster than anybody, least of all her, expected, leapt in front of the snake. "Gentle Fist Art," she stated, moving into a pose reminiscent of but not exactly like her usual one. A visible line of blue light ran down her arm, into her palm, and then slightly out of her palm, which began glowing with chakra so strong it was visible and even blinding. The snake suddenly struck with phenomenal speed. "Great Palm Strike!" Hinata shouted, moving her hand forward at speeds comparable to the limbless being she was fighting.

_-AAAAAAH!,-_ screamed the reptilian behemoth, rearing back as the chakra was driven forward. He leaned back further, resting on his coil as his forehead began showing signs of third-degree burns, in a much larger area than the chakra had actually struck. He opened his mouth wide, spitting out a great gale of venomous chakra.

Hinata stood her ground, moving into a different Gentle Fist stance. "I won't let you hurt Naruto!" she shouted. Her arms became a blur as she rotated them, chakra becoming visible yet again. The other three had recovered by now, and were watching Hinata with an awe similar to Neji's watching Sasuke. "Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms Guard!" she cried as the black chakra impacted her blue chakra. Surprisingly for Madara and for absolutely no one else, Hinata's chakra actually appeared to be the stronger of the two, even when her dome of protection had so many holes in its drawn lines. The hatred moved dangerously around its intended target, scattering itself in various directions, but never actually striking her.

Sasuke (now bleeding from several fresh wounds, none even close to serious thanks to Neji's Byakugan) and Madara stopped their fight for a moment to look over at Hinata, whose defensive barrier was growing, slowly but surely. "Impossible," mumbled Madara. "No chakra is stronger than that of the Ten-Tailed Beast!"

Neji smiled, watching his cousin and not surprised at all. "Her chakra is good, and light," he said to Madara. "Yours is made of darkness. No matter how weak a light is, as long as it is pure and good it will always penetrate the darkness." He looked up at the Uchiha with an expression of pride that a fellow Hyuuga...his cousin...the one he called _sister _was stronger than the Beast. "You may be more powerful than Hinata, but you can never overcome her."

_-Hinata...-_ Sasuke thought. _-How could you have come so far while I have been away?-_ He slowly closed his eyes, looking shamed. _-And how could I have been so blind as to what real power is?-_

"Go Hinata!" shouted Kiba, smiling genuinely for the first time in a long time. "'Atta girl!"

"Amazing," said Shikamaru. "She's holding off one of Madara's clones all by herself."

"That is the power," Gaara said. The other two looked at him. "The power that comes from protecting someone. Someone precious to you." He looked past Hinata, at Naruto. "He taught me that. He taught all of us that." Shikamaru and Kiba looked back at Naruto, and nodded.

_-Out of my way!-_ shouted the snake, opening its mouth ever wider. Hinata was completely engulfed by chakra now, but it did not overcome her justu. In fact, one could still see her, glowing, at the center of the raging storm. If one could look closely enough, one could even see the expression on her face. Determined as physically possible, calm, and concentraing.

_-Focus,-_ she thought to herself. _-Focus. Focus...focus...focus...-_ Her eyes snapped open. _-Focus!-_ "Eight Trigrams!" she shouted as her protective bubble suddenly solidified, glowing ever brighter as she leapt forward, towards the snake's head. "Sixty Four Palms Charge!"

The Madara from the Future actually _exploded_ when she impacted.

Everyone, the last remaining Madara included, braced themselves against the great shockwave that occurred upon impact. Under their feet, the hill slowly began to crumble. Boulders and tree went flying, and blood that had once been dry suddenly liquified. Those who were unconscious were swept away from the danger by the blast itself, landing at the bottom of the hill, relatively unhurt, and away from being caught in the crossfire of the continuing battle.

A second or two after the shaking stopped, Hinata landed, stumbling slightly. She took a deep breath in. Then, she smiled. "I did it...I actually did it." she mumbled. The other three members of her new "squad" ran forward to her, genuinely smiling. In his mind, though not on his face as he wasn't allowed to move, Naruto smiled as well.

Meanwhile, with the other group, there was a short silence. Madara finally spoke up: "This girl is dangerous. I have to kill her."

"Don't you dare-" began Neji, veins around his eyes popping ever more as he focused his Byakugan and aimed for his opponent's spinal column with his remaining hand. Madara interrupted him with a sweeping kick. Lightning flashed again as Madara dashed forward.

"Yaaaaah!" battle-cried Sasuke as he ran forward after his former master. Madara turned at approximately the halfway point, meeting Sasuke's blade with his own. His shoved Sasuke back a step, then raised his hand as Sasuke stepped forward again. Several portals appeared beneath Sasuke's feet, and out of each one shot a stalagmite. Now Sasuke screamed the same word again, though this time it was a cry of pain. The (rather large) pointy rocks stopped their movement as the portals closed , each tip having some blood on it and Sasuke in the middle, unseen in all the rocks that blocked the view. His hand, still gripping the sword, reached out from the rocks.

"Hmm. Good riddance, you annoying brat," said Madara, turning. He suddenly stopped, then turned back. "What?" Sasuke's hand was moving, though blood dripped down from it onto the sword he was holding. It slowly, agonizingly, moved into an attacking position. Madara blinked, though it remained unseen, and made the Serpent hand sign. Several more rock-spikes grew out of the stalagmites. Sasuke's hand suddenly started, held still for a moment, then finally wilted, dropping his sword. Madara stared for a moment, then continued dashing towards Hinata and Naruto, who were now very near to each other as the group had moved back into its defensive position.

"You're through!" shouted Kiba. He summoned up the last of his chakra. "GIANT TUNNELING FANG!" It was an accurate assessment of the attack that occurred, a larger version of his tunneling fang.

"Kiba, wait!" shouted Shikamaru. "We're on defense here, not offense!"

Madara raised his hand and brought it back down quickly. A purple barrier suddenly appeared in front of him for the split second necessary to knock Kiba away, growling in pain. Kiba landed 'on all fours', and dashed towards Madara again. "I'll kill you!" Kiba shouted as he leapt towards him.

"Out of the way!" Madara exclaimed, hitting Kiba away. Kiba landed upright again and dashed forward. "You little mutt," said Madara as the darkness around him increased. "If you want to die so badly!"

"KIBA!" shouted Hinata as the evil man's sword increased in length, ripping through Kiba's flesh.

Kiba stopped in his tracks, attempting to hold in his cry of pain. He slowly smiled , even as the followup attack of chakra attacked him as well, impaling him over and over again on small levels. "Looks like...I"m through, you guys..." he mumbled. Then, he suddenly started dashing again, faster than before, letting the sword rip into him more as his body moved naturally up and down through the process of running.

"What?" asked Madara, surprised. Before he could react, Kiba suddenly struck him in the face. With claws. "GAH!" shouted Madara, stumbling backwards. Kiba landed, panting, as the sword fell out of his wound and the heavy bleeding began.

"Kiba..." Hinata murmured as she stepped forward. Shikamaru raised his arm in front of her, stopping her from moving forward any more. She looked at him.

"Maybe you could do something," Shikamaru said, "If Madara wasn't there. Since he is..." and his eyes narrowed. "You'd just die too."

Hinata looked back at Kiba. "But..." she started, then stopped. Tears slowly began forming in her eyes.

Kiba took a few more deep breaths. _-I can feel it,-_ he thought. _-These are my final moments.-_ He looked at Madara, who had gotten back up and grabbed his sword. _-Even if they weren't, I'm too weak to fight back. He'll finish me off.- _Kiba sighed, looking up to the thunderclouds, raindrops dripping down his face. _-No regrets. Not now. Not ever.-_ He chuckled, but just once. _-See you soon...Akamaru...-_

Madara raised his hand. "Ninja Art: Instant Death Jutsu!"

"NO!" shouted Hinata. Gaara and Shikamaru's mouths dropped open, eyes widened slightly.

Kiba looked over. Strangely, he didn't look at Hinata. He didn't look at Shikamaru, or even Gaara. He looked at Naruto, who he wasn't even sure could hear him. "You'd better take care of my friend for me, Naruto..." and he smiled, genuinely happy. "She needs you."

_-I hear you,-_ thought Naruto. And the instant after he thought that, there was a loud explosion and another scream from Hinata. Shikamaru also yelled something, but Naruto couldn't tell what it was. _-And I will. That's a promise.-_

Everyone was crying now, except Madara, who had no reason to, and Naruto, who badly wanted to but knew he couldn't. They were crying for obvious reasons: fear of death, anger at the killer in front of them, great grief and regret, mental stress, seeing far too many of their comrades killed before their very eyes, and a lot of feelings that none of them could quite identify.

Gaara was crying the least, but the fact he was crying at all surprised him. _-I thought I'd used up my tears long ago...-_ he thought to himself as put as much effort as he could into lifting his wet sand and, astonishingly enough, succeeded.

Hinata was crying the most, as Kiba had been one of her closest friends, and a teammate to boot. "I'm sorry, Kiba," she sobbed, kneeling on the ground and clutching her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"If you're really sorry," said Shikamaru in a slightly choked voice, tears running uninhibited down his face as he moved into battle position. "Stand up and fight. He'd want you to."

Hinata sobbed a couple more times, choked, and took Shikamaru's advice, standing up and moving into the best Gentle Fist stance she was capable of using. "I'm almost out of chakra," she said.

"Me too," smiled Shikamaru, though the tears didn't stop.

"I'm not," said Gaara. "But it takes a lot of chakra for me to move this heavy sand."

Shikamaru sighed. "Alright, guys, we wait until he attacks. Hinata stops the attack with her Gentle Fist, and then Gaara and I will swoop in and try to finish him off. Quick strike, shoot to kill."

"Got it," said Hinata.

"Understood," said Gaara.

Madara stared at them for a few more seconds. He tilted his head. "Boy with the black hair...Shikamaru."

Shikamaru looked up. "Yeah, what?"

"Watch your shadow." In response to these words from Madara, Shikamaru looked down momentarily, expecting to see his shadow come to life and attack him. Or worse, expecting that his opponent had copied his Shadow Possession Jutsu. Neither was the truth, so Shikamaru looked back up.

Thunder crashed as lightning struck a faraway location.

In the split second between his looking up and Madara's boot impacting, Shikamaru realized the three had been tricked. "Ahrgh," grunted Shikamaru, though he did not step backwards. He felt teeth being knocked out of his jaw, then tasted blood.

Hinata was surprised by the instantaneous nature of Madara's movement, but Gaara kept his cool, swinging his sand at Madara. Madara merely shifted to the side, allowing Shikamaru's own weight to let him fall forward, right where he used to be standing. Gaara's sand hit Shikamaru, who screamed and was flung backwards. "Ah..." Gaara let out a note of surprise. Then another one: "ARGH!" This one of pain. Madara had struck again, landing atop Gaara and slamming him into the ground. He stood on the sand ninja of the Sand's chest, as the soil and dust and pebbles near Gaara tried to move itself to protect him. But on top of being sluggish at the moment, the wet sand could not break through the wall of evil chakra that surrounded Madara.

Madara raised his sword in the air, pointed down at Gaara's head. "Now I've got you..." he said in a low, murderous voice. "HINATA!" he said, turning and blocking her palm with the flat side of the blade. He turned it over slightly in his hand, then drew it quickly across her palm.

"Ow!" yelped Hinata, drawing her hand back involuntarily. Madara stepped forward off the Kazekage, his chakra grabbing the young man and tossing him, with great force, like a curveball around Hinata and into the ground in front of Shikamaru, who was just getting up. Mud and stone flew in various directions as both of them were pushed backwards a bit more.

"You're through!" shouted Madara, thrusting his blade forward. Hinata reached out with her other palm, using it to knock the sword out of his hand. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward. "Take this!" he said as he brought his fist forward to meet her jaw.

Hinata was sent sprawling through the dirt, a cry of pain conspicuously absent as she sprawled such. Madara waved his hand, and his sword flew back into it, hilt first of course. He started to move forward, but then stopped and looked over at Neji, whom he had left for unconscious.

The Hyuuga finished wobbly getting up and took a few weak zig-zagging steps forward. These few steps turned into a dash forward in which Neji used his off-balance momentum to guide him, allowing himself to "fall" into the dash, if you will. He arrived at Madara quickly, thrusting his hand forward. Madara phased, stepping away from Neji.

Gaara's sand was there to meet him, wet and getting wetter, heavy and getting heavier, all thanks to the rain. It piled itself onto the Uchiha, covering him completely. Gaara frowned and his eyes narrowed as he made sure he gave the Present Madara no time to escape what the Past one did. "Heavy Sand Funeral!" Gaara shouted, collapsing the structure with Madara in it. The satisfying crunch it made let Gaara know the attack had made contact.

Shikamaru slowly sat up from where he had fallen as Neji took a few shaky steps towards the three. Hinata got up as well, but she was trying to catch her breath and was rubbing her right cheek. Didn't look like she'd be wanting to join her companions any time soon unless it was necessary.

"Did that do it?" asked Gaara, unsure of his attack for the first time in his life.

"Doubt it," said Shikamaru. "But I sure hope so."

Lightning struck again as the thunder laughed.

"RAAAH!" Madara shouted, bursting from his prison. He ran forward, wet sand falling off his tunic as he went, sword raised high.

"Look out!" said Shikamaru, and he and the other two got into the best defensive stances they could. It didn't help much as Madara struck his sword into the ground, creating a small crater that threw our heroes off balance slightly. Then his chakra burst out in three different directions, sending the three in front of him flying.

"No more jutsu!" screeched Madara, throwing the sword away as madness seeped back into his voice. "I'll beat you all to death with my bare hands!" And he rushed towards the group again.

The first one to be hit was Gaara, for he was the first to get up. He gasped in pain, rocking backwards and clutching his stomach, where he had been elbowed "I gotcha!" shouted Shikamaru, the second to get up. Hinata was now up, too, and running towards them.

"FOOL!" shouted Madara, turning and surrounding his fist with chakra. He punched, hard, but Shikamaru was able to dodge the fist itself, leading to only a glancing blow. Still, with the Beast's chakra, that was enough to send Shikamaru to the ground again. "All of you are fools!" continued Madara as he turned again, backhanding Gaara across the face.

Gaara stumbled backwards. He wiped the blood off his mouth with his fist. "Alright, I'm out of chakra anyway," he said as Neji managed to get up and Hinata showed up, standing behind and a little to the left of Madara. "If you want taijutsu, I'm up for it." And he got into a basic fighting pose (for the basics were all he knew of any form of taijutsu, even though did know a lot of forms), signaling for Madara to come forward.

Madara chuckled, and that chuckle quickly increased in intensity until it changed into a full-fledged laugh. He suddenly stopped. "Better yet...you all come for me." The group of four hesitated. "Unless, of course...you all want me to go for Naruto now?"

That did it. All four of them charged, or at least the three who were battle-ready did. Hinata reached Madara's location first. She struck with her palm, but Madara dodged, turning on his heel to face her. As he did so, he blocked Gaara's strike with his left arm, then attempted to kick Hinata in the hip.

"I've got you!" declared Hinata as she caught his ankle with her free hand.

"Do you?" asked Madara, just before spinning his body partially around and using Hinata's hand as leverage. He leapt into the air with this leverage and his spinning, punching out a grazing blow to Gaara and blocking Shikamaru's first attack before digging his other boot into the side of Hinata's head. She went flying, but once again did not cry out in pain. Madara, chakra assisted, stuck the landing, spinning one last time on his heel to face Shikamaru.

A quick jab, one more, and then Madara turned to Gaara and knocked his punch away so he was off balance, then catch his spine in a cross block as he fell forward. An ominous cracking was heard. The cross block was released so Madara could block Shikamaru's wrist before his/Asuma's trench knife could hit, then twist his own wrist to grab Shikamaru by the shoulder joint, moving it upward. "AAH!" screamed Shikamaru as yet another ominous cracking was heard.

_-I have to do something,-_ thought Neji, body going through the crest of his waves of pain, watching and attempting to make his body move forward. _-But how can I when I can barely even stand?-_

Gaara, meanwhile, was just getting up from Madara's last attack. If it wasn't for his sand armor, that one would have killed him. As it was...it hurt. A _lot_. "Hyaa!" shouted Gaara in order to release that tiny extra bit of energy that might just be what was needed. He shouted this as he moved into a high kick, bringing his foot down onto Madara's shoulder as he sprung up into the air.

Madara phased his shoulder, and wherever else Gaara's foot passed through on its way to the ground. The Uchiha chuckled. "That all you got, kid?" he asked in a deathly quiet voice. He moved his arm up again, completely dislocating Shikamaru's shoulder.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Shikamaru screamed in pain again as Madara let go and he fell to the ground.

"Heh, heh, heh," chuckled Madara as he dropped Shikamaru. He simultaneously brought his foot up into the air.

CRACK!

Now it was Gaara's turn to scream. He did not take this turn, instead choosing to just grit his teeth and "Un..." in pain a few times as he drew back his now bleeding ankle. Even with the sand armor, that last attack had been strong enough to break the ankle bone.

"And as for you," Madara said, turning to catch Hinata's wrist before her two-fingered jab could impact. She gasped. "I"ll deal with you later. One on one." And with these words, he tossed Hinata a few inches backward with a gentle push of the hand, and then his chakra slammed into her, sending her several yards away from the bottom of the hill they were standing on. She still refused to scream, much to Madara's irritation.

Madara turned to Shikamaru who, with a cry of pain, had relocated his shoulder again. "Nice job," said the shadow-nin, moving his trench knife into defense position and really wishing he hadn't gotten his other one destroyed.

"Thank you," replied Madara, turning away from Shikamaru slightly before suddenly turning and knocking the breath out of Shikamaru with an underhanded punch to the gut. He withdrew his hand and made a few jabs to Shikamaru's face.

This time Shikamaru vocalized his pain, though just barely. "Guh...argh," he said simply and eloquently. Madara smiled, though none could see it, and swung for an uppercut. It connected, and no glancing blow this time either. "GAH!" shouted Shikamaru. He landed several feet away on his back. He slowly sat up. "Great," he said wryly. "And on top of all that I had to go and bite my tongue, too."

Madara actually laughed at this, as Gaara managed to balance himself on his not-broken foot and leap, somersaulting in the air as he prepared to bring his foot down again. Madara suddenly turned, bringing his shoulder into contact with Gaara's under-knee. Gaara grunted and undid his somersault so as not to land on his back. "So, you're trying to copy Lee," said Madara, moving into a neutral stance. Suddenly, as lightning blazed in the sky again, he almost disappeared, appearing crouched below Gaara and shooting his leg upwards into the redhead's chin.

"Oof!" Gaara said as he went flying in the air and Madara crouched again. Once again, he seemed to disappear. Gaara continued soaring. "Not again," he murmured to himself as Madara appeared underneath him.

"Let me show you how it's REALLY DONE," whispered/screamed Madara, before suddenly slamming his body into Gaara's. By propelling his dark chakra into the ground as a boost, he was able to zoom straight into the sky, taking Gaara with him. Once they had attained a height of several hundred feet (very dangerous in a lightning storm), Madara rose slightly above Gaara's position. He delivered eighteen punches, each one creating a crack in Gaara's armor and forcing him back towards the ground. Finally, Madara connected both fists, raised them above his head, and slammed them into Gaara's body. Gaara went spiraling down, the earth both on and off his body cracking apart upon his impact with the ground. Madara came down quickly after him, but landed softly on his feet. He slowly unbent his back and knees as he turned to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was frozen in shock and in awe. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open past any point he could have opened it naturally. His arms hung limply from his sides as he felt himself breathing deeper. In short, he was very impressed with Madara's newfound ability in taijutsu. _-Holy crud,- _thought Shikamaru. _-We're really not going to survive this, are we?-_ Despite this thought, though, he stood up, ready for more battle.

He was quickly knocked back down by Madara, who let off yet another quick jab to Shikamaru's face. Shikamaru was sure his nose was broken by now, if not outright pulverized. There was no time to contemplate this as he got up once again. Looking over Madara's shoulder, he saw Gaara weakly trying to get up as well, and then fall back down into his pile of sand. His blood and the rain mixed. "Piece of advice," said Madara, raising a finger into the air. His chakra suddenly bolted forward, slamming into Shikamaru with great force. "Never take your eyes off your opponent. Heh. Not that it'll help you much against me."

Shikamaru slowly began pushing himself up, yet again. He picked up his knife-knuckle combo. The end blade had broken off. _-There goes the other one,-_ thought Shikamaru. _-Sorry, Asuma.- _Madara slowly began walking forward. Shikamaru grinned. _-I don't think I can lay a single finger on this guy. Sorry, Temari.-_ He chuckled to himself, moving into the best position to attack he could. _-Man, I'm apologizing all over the place today. When's someone gonna apologize to me?-_

"Sorry, Shikamaru," said a voice from behind him. Shikamaru looked, and so did Madara. Neji was standing there, looking proud and not wobbly at all. "You'll have to back down. He's mine."

"Neji," began Shikamaru.

Neji anticipated his question. "How am I standing?" he quoted Shikamaru before Shikamaru even spoke. He began walking forward. "I"m just imitating Naruto, is all."

"Neji, you shouldn't be doing this!" Shikamaru said in a voice that was almost scolding. If his mom could see him now. "You need to stand down...you're badly injured!"

"Exactly. If he's going to kill someone, it might as well be someone who doesn't have much chance of being a ninja ever again anyway," stated Neji with his usual calmness. Then, breaking that calmness, his eyes narrowed and his voice became strained as his lips deepened into a frown. "Besides, this man took away the most important person in my life."

_-So that's what's driving him,-_ thought Shikamaru. "Believe me, I know the feeling," he said out loud. "But that doesn't mean that...what?" He said 'what' because Neji had suddenly advanced at his top speed with both arms at Madara Uchiha while he only had one arm and severe injuries. The attack struck home, Neji jabbing his fingers into Madara's throat.

"Ergh," gurgled Madara. Then he moved his head in a way that hinted he was smirking under the mask he wore. "Good job. That's two."

Neji furrowed his brow. "No words," he said simply, ignoring the intense pain his body was in.

"Very well," said Madara in response, raising his fists.

They clashed.

Shikamaru sat back on the ground without thinking about it, absolutely awestruck. _-Amazing,-_ he thought to himself. _-Neji's fighting Madara on...on equal footing!-_ And it was true. Neji's feet and fist were flying with fury, and Madara was blocking each strike or phasing it through him. Neji also blocked almost every attack thrown his way, and then dodged the few he could not block. Visible sprays of blue and black shot off where the attacks connected with the other's defense. Suddenly, Madara jumped back. Neji moved back into his neutral stance as Madara left his stance altogether.

There was a silence that Madara eventually broke. "Alright," he said, "You win." Neji raised his eyebrow. Madara moved two fingers in front of his face, held approximately in the usual place, but horizontally instead of vertically. "Nervous Breakdown Jutsu."

As lightning and thunder showed their faces once again, Neji suddenly twitched, then spazzed. "What have you..." he cried in agony before falling over to the ground, writhing. "What have you done to me?"

Madara put his hand back down. "I won't bother explaining it to you in detail, since you're going to die soon. Let's just say..." and he began walking back over to Neji, "That your body is very confused about what is what, and will be for the next several minutes."

_-No chakra to use Shadow techniques,-_ thought Shikamaru. _-But maybe I can fake him out...- _Shikamaru formed his hands into the Rat seal ."Secret Ninja Art: Shadow Explosion Jutsu!"

Madara looked up at Shikamaru. Shikamaru moved from his position, throwing a kunai as he went. Madara caught it between two fingers. "Seriously?" he asked the shadow user. Shikamaru grimaced, stopping in his tracks. He threw something else. Madara instinctively threw the kunai he was holding.

"Gotcha," smirked Shikamaru.

As the kunai collided with the smoke bomb, a large cloud of yellow fog formed, growing larger than normal due to the rain present. "What the!" exclaimed Madara, surprised.

Shikamaru performed a strong right hook while leaping through the smog with his sharpened steel knuckles. Shikamaru actually felt the spikes go into the man's mask and flesh. _-I can't believe I managed that,-_ thought Shikamaru, grinning as Madara was sent flying. Suddenly, he disappeared again, reappearing in front of Shikamaru. _-I knew it was too good to be true.-_ Shikamaru thought. Madara twirled, bringing up his knee and striking at Shikamaru's ribs. _-Well, there goes the third and fourth ones...-_ thought Shikamaru calmly as he felt them break. He landed several feet away, able to stand back up but worn out and really wishing he could be somewhere else.

Madara walked back over to the Hyuuga, who had finally regained some semblance of movement, though he was still even worse off than he was before Madara's jutsu. As he slowly pushed himself an inch off the ground, veins bulging all over his arm, Madara leaned over, pressing his head back down into the dirt with great force. "Aah!" Neji cried as the side of his head began bleeding. He looked up at the Uchiha holding his head with absolute hatred in his eyes. "I want to kill you," he said, matter-of-fact as usual even when delivering anger-fueled death threats.

Madara said nothing for a few moments. "Too bad," he finally said. His sword appeared, yet again, in his right fist as he rose it up into the air above Neji's neck. Neji struggled, though it was obvious from the look on his face it was more a desire to kill than a desire to avoid death.

"HYAA!" said Hinata, rejoining the fray with a quick attack to Madara's head, which had healed quickly though his mask had not. Instead of taking the time to phase, he merely sent his chakra tendrils to block and repel both Hinata and her attack. She still did not scream in pain or terror as the pointed chakra dug into her flesh, instead standing on her feet even as she skidded, using her gentle fist to break off the tendrils. She stopped sliding several feet from Madara, who turned his attention away from the no-threat that was Neji.

Shikamaru stood up and began rushing towards Madara, who was talking. There was, after all, some hope for helping Hinata, even if there wasn't for Neji. "Ah, yes," the oldest of the Uchiha said, as if remembering. "I promised a one-on-one fight between us, didn't I?" he questioned rhetorically before sending out more spiraling chakra arms to attack Hinata, simultaneously dashing in for closer attacks. Hinata repelled all the tentacle-like chakra and dodged Madara's first two strikes, backflipping out of the way. This was all accomplished through flexibility and Byakugan.

Shikamaru stopped running, strategic heart pumping a few times. "Not yet..." he mumbled. "Not until the last second. She can handle things."

"Don't ever underestimate me!" yelled Hinata, charging forth again. Madara had no time to dodge and barely any time to time-shift (ironically enough) out of being hurt by Hinata's attack, two palm strikes at once. He counteracted with a punch of his own, which Hinata blocked, simultaneously sealing off another chakra point. Only 358 to go. "Don't ever hurt my friends," she said as she spun around quickly, using the momentum to bring up her five fingers, touching each other, into Madara's stomach. For the first time ever, Madara shifted out of the attack, but actually felt the fingers on his body before the chakra could be transferred. That was new.

Madara stumbled back. _-I let myself get carried away...this girl is trouble, remember, Madara?. I have to finish her off right now.- _

Hinata's eyes narrowed as her hands glowed blue. "And don't ever even TRY to hurt my boyfriend!" she nearly screamed as she drove her hands not into Madara, but rather into the chakra visible around him.

Madara screamed, a first in this fight or...any one for a long time. His dark chakra flared and suddenly turned a bright blue that matched Hinata's. "RAAAAAAAAARGH!" he cried in pain and terror.

Hinata's fists became less 'Gentle' and more 'Literal', clenching so tightly they threatened to break the skin open. "I'm out of chakra," she said. "But that doesn't mean I can't do..." and she drew back her fist. "THIS!" And she shot it forward, punching Madara in his jaw. And again. And again and again and again. She _wailed _on Madara Uchiha.

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the blue chakra disappeared, and was replaced again by the black chakra, which shot forward like a wave, crashing all of its force into Hinata and lifting her into the air. She finally screamed, but it was muffled. At the same time, Madara sank to his hands and knees, breathing heavily and raggedly.

Shiamaru gritted his teeth. _-Now's the time,-_ he thought, running again towards the natural disaster known as Madara Uchiha. In response to this, the evil man lifted his head, looking straight at Shikamaru. Perhaps he wasn't as unaware of his surroundings as Shikamaru had hoped. Thunder crashed again, blocking Shikamaru from hearing Madara's words as a familiar eye-shaped tattoo on the the skin of reality showed up from nowhere. _-Oh shoot!-_ he thought to himself, falling backwards and purposefully rolling to go down the hill and dodge the laser. Unfortunately, this also put Shikamaru at a further distance from Hinata.

Speaking of Hinata, she had finally been loosed from the great blast of evil she had been subjected to. She stood for a few seconds, a faraway look in her eyes. "Na...ru...to..." she murmured as she fell down, unconscious.

Madara picked both himself and his sword from off the ground, breath coming in short, frequent bursts. "You little...twerp..." he breathed, having forgotten what it was like to feel genuine, not superficial, pain. "Just die already!" he yelled, raising his sword into the air as he ran forwards.

_-No,- _thought Gaara, who was conscious but too weakened to do anything.

_-No,- _thought Neji, also conscious but his body messed up in more ways than one.

_-No,-_ thought Shikamaru, who was healthy by comparison but too far away to do anything.

"Point-Blank Chidori!" said a sudden voice from behind Madara.

Madara screamed in pain for the second time as Sasuke fired off a Chidori while touching his back. He stumbled, and nearly fell, then turned back and looked at the missing-nin. "You..." he said, as Sasuke smirked, arms crossed. "You should be DEAD!"

"Aw, you seem disappointed," mocked Sasuke. "Heh. Dead or not, Naruto would never let me hear the end of it if I let his precious little Hinata die." He shrugged. "So, I figured I'd better rescue her."

Madara looked at Sasuke some more. "Your Sharingan is fading," he said. "That was the last of your chakra reserves."

"You got me," said Sasuke, still grinning.

Madara took a few more deep breaths. He put his hand to his forehead. "I won't be distracted...not this time..." he mumbled in a wildly pitchy voice. Sasuke moved his arms up slightly, worried about what his ancestor might do next. "I'LL KILL HER THIS TIME, NOT YOU!" he shouted, turning and bringing up his sword.

"Dynamic Entry!" shouted a decidedly feminine voice as Sakura suddenly leapt into the picture, her boot making contact with Madara's chest. He was sent flying over Sasuke, who wisely ducked.

"'Bout time you got here," said Sasuke, somehow unsurprised. "Let me guess...you're out of chakra too?"

"Not nearly," replied Sakura, winking. "But my arms are shot. See?" And she moved her shoulders up slightly, therefore bringing up her arms as well. They were more than badly burnt. "No healing jutsu, sorry to say. Which is too bad, because it looks like you could use it." She shook her head. "Honestly, why _aren't _your arms shot?"

She had a point. Besides injuries received beforehand, Sasuke had been impaled several times by Madara's stalagmites and was bleeding all over. There was literally no inch of him left undirtied, whether by mud or by blood. Sakura, being a medical ninja, was unfazed by all this. "Beats me," said Sasuke. He was never one for words. Besides, Madara was slowly getting up.

"Status report?" asked Sakura.

"You, me, Naruto, and a few of our friends are the only ones left standing," said Sasuke, drawing a kunai from Sakura's pouch. She would have slapped him for coming so near her butt, except A) They were in battle at the moment and B) she didn't notice. Sasuke was good at pickpocketing.

"What else is new?" asked Sakura, crouching down. She didn't bother even trying to move her arms. If she survived, they'd probably have to be amputated later.

Madara finally finished getting up. He did not appear (before he did so) to be having trouble standing...it was more like he was taking his time. "You know," he finally said. "You all are really annoying. Always jumping in at the last second to save the day. It really throws me off."

"Hmph. That's what friends are for!" Sakura declared proudly, smiling her best smile at the evil Uchiha.

Sasuke looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Friends?" he asked.

"Ffriends," confirmed Sakura, turning to him. She moved her shoulders as if she could move her arms, gesturing in her mind out of force of habit. "I'm willing to forgive you for the things you've done for me." She looked at him. "So...let's both try and forget about it, okay?"

Sasuke sighed. "Sure. Right."

Madara stood still for a bit. "'What friends are for,'" he quoted. Another few seconds of silence as he seemed to contmeplate these words.

Thunder rolled.

Sakura was flung off of her feet by another wave of black chakra. "Sakura!" shouted Sasuke. His turn came next as the force of evil slammed into his side, driving him along the ground. He came to a stop next to her, pushing himself up with his hands. He reached over and gently placed two fingers on her neck. _-Alive. Just unconscious. Good.-_ He turned to Madara, who had apparently taken him for unconscious, and had thus turned away.

The direction Madara had turned to was towards a now-scared Shikamaru. "Now you," Madara said.

Shikamaru braced himself as the attack hit. "AAAAAAAH!" he yelled for a few seconds before bursting into smoke.

Madara blinked, then was pummeled in the spine by the real Shikamaru. He stumbled forward, then turned. "A clone?"

"Hoped you'd get careless," explained Shikamaru. "You did. You know, you should really stop doing that. Just because you have all this power, doesn't mean-" Madara reached out and grabbed him by the neck. Shikamaru clawed at the iron grip, but managed to stay smiling, an irritating, mocking smile. "Something I said?" he asked the Uchiha.

_-Shoot,-_ thought Sasuke, standing up. _-Isn't there anything we can do to stop this guy?-_ He looked up at the sky, which was no longer pouring out rain, though thunder clouds were still...thundering. _-The storm will break soon,-_ Sasuke thought. _-Then it'll all be over.-_ He slowly closed his eyes. _-Guess I've got to save Shikamaru...if I can. Unless a miracle shows up, that is...-_

"Hey. Old guy," said a scratchy voice from a nearby untouched spot of hill...in fact, the only untouched spot on the hill.

_-Well, speak of the number one hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja...-_ thought Sasuke, looking over with a smile. So did Shikamaru, as best as he could. Madara looked over, too, though he was frowning, not smiling.

Naruto was standing there, Sage Mode unlocked. His eyes almost glowed with the power he'd gathered, and they'd definitely changed color. His coat blew in the wind dramatically. "Put Shikamaru down. Now."

Madara chuckled, tightening his grip. Shikamaru finally stopped smiling and repeatedly grunted in pain as dark chakra slowly made its way through his veins. "Pardon me for being so clichéd...but what will you do if I don't?"

Faster than any movement, Madara included, so far, Naruto ran up and kicked the Uchiha. In the groin. With enough strength to break boulders. Madara stumbled backwards, making a small whimpering sound and clutching himself. "That's for what you did to Hinata," Naruto said.

"Nice one," choked out Shikamaru from the ground, massaging his bruised neck.

"Lucky shot," said Naruto, hands suddenly moving in a very blurred state. "He underestimated me. I couldn't have done that otherwise."

Shikamaru blinked, then smiled again. "Never thought I'd hear you take an opportunity to _not _brag," he said. Naruto smiled.

The others, meanwhile, watched Naruto's hands. _-What jutsu is that?-_ thought Gaara. _-And what hand signs?-_

Sasuke had manged to gather up just enough chakra to use Sharingan to try and analyze the hand signs. He could not. _-I can't even tell how many hand signs he's made so far...-_

Neji and his Byakugan, however, could. _-Ninety-six,- _he thought as Naruto finished. _-Astounding. And what exactly _were _some of those hand sings? I've never seen them before.-_

As Madara finally recovered from the spirit-breaking blow he received, he raised his hand. "Ninja Art...Instant Death Jutsu!" he shouted out, seething.

Naruto grinned, raising his own hand. "Time Seal Jutsu!" And in that moment, the moment before Madara released his justu, Naruto released his, for his was much faster. And in that moment, Madara froze in place.

"Did...did you just..." Shikamaru gasped out.

"Was that a time-space justu?" Sasuke asked, surprised as all get-out.

Naruto looked proud of himself as usual. "Yep! I made it myself! He's frozen in time. No time-shifting if you can't even move from the moment you're stuck in!" He suddenly frowned, worry on his face. "That's why I know my last attack will hit. That is, it should..." He looked around. "But I need you guys' help. Thank goodness there's still four of you left."

Sasuke looked around. _-Yeah, but two of us are near-dead, and one other should be near dead and isn't for some reason.-_ He smiled, just a tiny bit. _-And the last one's so lazy he makes sloths look fast-paced.-_

A groaning sound came from the crater Gaara was in. He was painfully trying to get up off of the ground. "What...can we do?" Gaara asked as he stood. He normally wouldn't have been able to stand, but every time he looked at Naruto, he remembered that one time...

"You've gotta stand at the same distance from Madara as I do," explained Naruto. "Make a five pointed star, one guy at each point!" He growled at the figure in front of him, feeling a renewed anger. "Otherwise the justu isn't gonna last long enough."

"Got it..." said Gaara, walking forward very very slowly.

Shikamaru blinked a couple times. "Hey..." he finally said. "Your leg's broken. Lemme help," and he ran over to Gaara and acted as his second leg, laying his friend's arm across his shoulder.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was also running, he to Neji. He picked up his comrade on his back. "Think you can stand?" he asked the Byakugan-wielder.

"...only if someone could get me balanced correctly...and then I stood perfectly still..." breathed out Neji. His injuries were finally settling in.

"Got it," said Sasuke, coming closer to the star where Shikamaru was now setting Gaara at a point. He was silent for a second or two. "You know, speaking from experience, the whole 'revenge' thing-"

"I know," gasped Neji, interrupting. "But...I could not properly mourn upon the battlefield...and I had to do...something..."

"I understand," said Sasuke.

Meanwhile, as they arrived, Naruto was slowly creating his attack. He had to do it slowly, for he was not used to creating this attack without Shadow Clones, and because of the fact that if he used too much chakra Sage Mode would run out, leaving him exhausted and useless. Then the whole plan would be shot. "There we go," said Shikamaru as Sasuke moved to his spot. Neji was trying to stand perfectly still. "Now what do we do?"

"Just watch," said Naruto, grinning as he rose his palm in the air, gathering more chakra. The ground beneath him and his four companions began to glow a bright yellow, and then filled in the gaps to create a true star. The star flashed, turning from yellow to a bright white. Even though they had never felt such a sensation before, everyone could somehow tell the timestream was becoming solid, rather than liquid, within the area the star occupied.

"Woah," said Sasuke. No one else spoke up, but they all concurred.

Just in case Madara could somehow hear him, Naruto began explaining his attack. (Hey, the maybe-not-so-immortal Uchiha could not escape, and there was nothing else to do.) "This," began Naruto as the attack slowly started taking shape, "Is my own personal Wind Style Jutsu: the Rasenshuriken."

His face became angry. "I based it off the Rasengan, which the Legendary Sannin and Pervy Sage Jiraiya taught to me." His eyes narrowed as a growl seeped into his voice. Though the Nine-Tailed Fox was gone, some of Naruto's traits he'd gained from the vulpine demon simply weren't going away any time soon. "The Sannin that Pain killed...because _you_ manipulated him. Him and everyone else around you, to come one step closer to the end result of your own twisted goals!" He breathed in and out deeply, then calmed down, closing his eyes. He looked up with a small smile, though somehow it made him seem even angrier than when he frowned.

"You've hurt so many of my friends," Naruto continued. "You murdered them in cold blood because they got in your way. You thought because you had power, you had the right to do anything you wanted!" The wind was picking up speed now as the ball of chakra in Naruto's hand spun and spun, an additional ball of chakra forming around it to prevent it from cutting into Naruto's own hand. "Well, now I've got all the power. And I'm gonna use that power to do the right thing!" He raised his head to the heavens. "I'll finish you off!" he shouted. "For everyone who's ever been hurt by you!" He looked at the ball in his hand, which was slowly taking shape, a shape very similar to a Fūma shuriken. "This attack...even if your chakra does make you immortal, it'll finish you off! Because it destroys chakra, this attack." The clouds were slowly being fanned away by the wind, now, as the Rasenshuriken picked up in power and intensity. "You see, this thing attacks your body on the cellular level...millions and millions of tiny blades that cut into your chakra network!" He grinned again as the last of the clouds began slowly moving away. "It'll cut right through that stupid Ten-Tailed's chakra! It'll cut through you, too, Madara, and your own personal chakra. And without chakra, you die!" He looked at one of his friends. "Right, Neji?"

Neji slowly managed to smile, while everyone else had their eyebrows raised and their mouths open, astounded that Naruto had come up with not just one, but two phenomenally powerful jutsus, all on his own. "...that's right..." Neji quietly murmured.

Naruto stopped grinning now, looking utterly serious. Behind him, and in full view of Madara Uchiha, who was indeed still conscious of all that was going on around him, the full harvest moon shone. Perhaps it was only an optical illusion, but it seemed much brighter than it usually did. "This ends tonight, 'Tobi'." Naruto reared his arm back. "This is for Tenten...and Itachi...and Chiyo...and Asuma! For everyone who died here today! For everyone you ever caused to be hurt!" Naruto reared his body back as well as the chakra in his hand sharpened into its final form. "This is for the world, Madara Uchiha!"

He threw the Rasenshuriken.

Madara screamed in excruciating pain as the attack sliced into him, snapping him back into the present. The dark, evil chakra of the Beast absorbed much of the impact, keeping Madara's body from being destroyed, but enough got through. Inside his body, Madara felt each individual bit of his chakra lines being severed. One at a time. As if in slow motion. His scream died down, forming a whimper, then a gurgling, then a silence. The attack dissipated, slowly. The black chakra surrounding Madara slowly faded away.

A gentle breeze blew by.

Neji fell forward to the ground, then agonized his head to look up. He activated his Byakugan. "...he is gone. Madara Uchiha is dead. We have attained victory."

There was a silence, long and disbelieving. Shikamaru sighed. "Well, the battle's over, for real this time," he said. He brought the palm of his hand to his mouth, rubbing his face and trying not to cry again. "And we only had to sacrifice two village's worth of ninja to beat the bad guy," he finshed, bitterly and sarcastically and with a strained voice.

Gaara bowed his head. "Why did all of this have to happen?" he choked out, tears forming in his eyes again. It was both a relief and a horror to be able to cry. "This battle. These deaths. Everything. Why?"

Sasuke bowed his head next. "Because of me," he said so softly that no one could hear him.

Naruto looked up at the sky. He turned around, and looked some more. He finally spotted the moon. "There," he said, pointing to it. Everyone looked up at the moon. Once again, nothing more needed to be said. They stared for a short time before being interrupted.

"Guys!" shouted Shikamaru, drawing their attention back towards Madara. "Look!"

Everyone looked. The black demonic chakra was seeping from Madara's body in various places. "What's going on?" asked Naruto, getting back into battle position.

Before anyone could answer, a bright beam of white light shot from Madara's body, streaming in between Gaara and Shikamaru. "It's some kind of-" Gaara began, but he was interrupted by another, much louder beam of black light.

"Everyone get ready!" shouted Sasuke as beams of black and white began dancing around them, scattering themselves into the horizon.

No one could speak now as louder and louder and more and more frequent and more dangerous-looking beams of white and black shot from the dead Madara. The air around them seemed to ripple, and the ground seemed to distort. Images of people mourning, running, laughing, playing, crying, joking, training, fighting, loving, passed by the five ninja at extremely high speeds. The moon and sun rose and set, coming from different directions than they should, two suns appearing in the sky, half a moon here and the other half there. Planets and stars shone brighter, dimmer, disappeared and appeared in the sky.

Finally, with a flash of light that combined the black light and the white light and yet was some odd color besides gray, everything disappeared.

* * *

Gee, I wonder what's going to happen. [/sarcasm]. You know, Madara's right...there was lot of last-second saving in this chapter, wasn't there? Then again, he probably wouldn't haven't been forced to spare so many people if he deigned to finish the job instead of just messing around with his opponents. Well, he was insane at the time of this chapter, so perhaps I can forgive his stupidity. And/or my poor writing skills.

Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed enough to take a peek at the second chapter (which may or may not be up when you read this), and have a nice day.

...well...one more thing...

**OMAKE #1**

What follows is a mildly humorous scene I considered putting in the chapter, but eventually decided against doing so because of fear it would break up the drama of the piece. Hope you enjoy it this, the deleted scene of Chapter 1!

**0-0-0-0**

"...to save the day. It really throws me off."

"Hmph. That's what friends are for!" Sakura declared proudly, smiling her best smile at the evil Uchiha.

Sasuke looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Friends?" he asked.

"Just friends," said Sakura, turning to him. She moved her shoulders as if she could move her arms, gesturing in her mind out of force of habit. "I'm willing to forgive you for the things you've done for me..." and she stuck out her tongue, winking and still smiling. "But there's no way you're ever getting any of this!" she finished, tilting her hip slightly.

Leave it Sakura to act bubbly when things were at the worst...even if it was just acting.

Madara suddenly laughed, uproariously so, as Sasuke facefaulted. "Well, then, Sasuke," the elder said to the younger, "Looks like you just lost the last chance you had to restore our clan!" And Shikamaru, coming up the hill again, laughed despite himself, as did Sakura. Neji and Gaara were too in pain to laugh, though they might have under different circumstances. Naruto didn't hear, which is probably good, as he was almost done meditating and saying something funny would more than likely get him laughing something he was never good at resisting. Especially if Sasuke was the butt of the joke.

Sasuke got back up. "Okay, I've changed my mind," he said. "I'm going to kill everyone after all."

"No you're not," said Sakura accurately as she turned back to Madara, bouncing on her heels.

Madara finally wound himself down. "Oh my..." he said, reaching up with one hand to move the mask slightly and then with the other to wipe his eye. He brought both hands down. "I needed that."

Thunder rolled.

Sakura was flung off of her feet by another wave of black chakra. "Sakura!" shouted Sasuke. His turn came...

**0-0-0-0**

That's all for now! Thanks a lot, good luck, and goodbye!**  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, a quick question...why is the rum gone?

Hello there! Welcome to Chapter number two of No Regrets this Time Around! I hope you enjoyed the extremely long chapter one. Don't worry, this chapter will seem short by comparison. Or maybe you should worry. It depends on whether you like long chapters or not.

Same with the whole action thing; I'll probably have several more chapters like number one throughout the story, albeit with less violence. Just as action packed, though. That said, ninja do do stuff besides fighting...sometimes.

For those wanting to skip over spoilers, or who simply wouldn't have any clue what's going on without them, skip the first section when the chapter starts. From there, you should be able to read this like a normal story. At any rate, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

**GO BACK TO START AND TRY AGAIN**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO COPE WITH THE FACT YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO COPE WITH**

**

* * *

**Over the years, the five 'last-standers' would meet and form a lot of theories on what exactly happened in that last moment of time. None were correct, but some were awfully close.

You see, Naruto's Time Seal Jutsu was an elementless one, but it relied on the powers of Light. Madara's power, of course, relied on Darkness. When the Rasenshuriken hit, it ripped open Madara's body and his chakra network, allowing the evil chakra of the Ten-Tailed Beast to seep out. And when the Dark Power impacted the Light, the Rasenshuriken mixed the two Powers together.

Darkness and Light should never mix.

The Chaos born of this mixing created a tear in the fabric of reality. This would be bad enough, but since Naruto was using a time-space jutsu, time itself was impacted, and the power of the attacks were magnified greatly. The timeline, from that point forward, was nullified entirely. And the backlash caused several years of the past to be erased.

But despite how bad it sounds, it really wasn't. Ten years is all. People would just have to restart from ten years ago. And, since none of the future had happened yet, no one would remember it, and things would go exactly the same way...

...causing an infinite loop. Hmm. Maybe it WAS as bad as it sounded.

Or, at least, it would have been, had Naruto's jutsu not been all about freezing time, the y-axis to space's x . So, yes, time was sent back ten years for them too, but it left their consciousness intact. It would have left their bodies intact, too, but those had been destroyed in the blast. So, their souls simply traveled back alone, settling into the first moment of their personal time-bubbles that still existed. So, they were transformed into their Genin-level (well, Chunin in Shikamaru's case) bodies of ten years ago.

And this, this giving knowledge to the future to five relatively unknown ninja, changed the entire world for the better.

**0-0-0-0**

They did not get back simultaneously, as one might well expect they would. Only two arrived on the same day. Naruto was the first. He woke up slowly and groggily to the ringing of the alarm upon his nightstand. "Ohh...my head..." he grumbled, for his head hurt. He slowly sat up and blinked, turning off the alarm by reflex.

Then he realized. "Wait, why am I in a bed and not on the battlefield?" he looked around. "Back in my old apartment?" He looked at the alarm clock his hand had just smacked. It was shaped like the third Hokage. You tapped him on the head to turn off the alarm. "With my old alarm clock of the old man?" Naruto wondered. Shrugging, he slowly and cautiously got out of the bed, subconsciously noting that it took a little longer for his feet to hit the floor than it should have. He walked to the window, opening it up.

He was shocked, in the good way. 'Surprised' would be the correct word, he supposed...but it had been so long since he'd had a positive surprise that he almost forgot the word. It was a bright, sunny day. The Village Hidden in the Leaves was not on fire, nor in ruins. It wasn't in the best shape it could possibly be, construction workers building up various projects everywhere, but it looked a lot better than it had any right to.

Naruto blinked. "Okay, what's going on here?" he confuzzeledly asked no one in particular. He shut the window again. "Was it just a dream?" he mumbled to himself. "Nah, it felt too real for that..." He walked around his room, scratching his chin.

He stopped suddenly. "I know! I'm in some kind of genjutsu!" He put his fingers together weirdly. "Release!" A level two justu-breaker. It...had no effect whatsoever. Naruto blinked again. "Well, maybe the old-fashioned way..." he said to himself, biting his thumb so hard it bled. He looked around again. "Huh...pain won't do it." He scratched his head, befuddled. "Maybe it's not a genjutsu?"

His hand came past his eyes again on its natural way down, and this time Naruto noticed. He blinked at it a couple times. Then he looked at the rest of him. Then he blinked a couple more times. _-Oh, I get it...-_ thought Naruto, the pieces suddenly all snapping into place. Then, with a sudden laugh: "Yeah, right! That's just silly! There's no such thing as..."

Then he remembered something Shikamaru had once said to him on one of their weirder missions. _"Once you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is the truth."_

Naruto stopped laughing at this thought and rested his hand in his chin. "...no matter how improbable, huh?" he asked himself.

After a few more moments of thought, he slowly turned and walked to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, as if confirming that yes, he really was twelve years old again. He looked at his face, turning it this way and that, scanning every feature. He reached down and slowly lifted up his shirt. The swirl on his stomach was back, and the wound he'd received was gone.

"Wow..." he said, somewhat confused and somewhat disbelieving and mostly just stunned. "I've really...gone back in time, haven't I?"

A few more seconds of looking at himself in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and walking back to the window. He looked out it again, this time not opening it. He vaguely thought about how he needed to start washing these windows. Amazing how the mind wanders when it should be focusing, eh?

There was a lot to contemplate, so Naruto started focusing on one thing at a time, sorting his thoughts into mental piles labeled 'Good' and 'Bad'. On the good side, he wasn't dead, and neither were any of his friends...well, depending on exactly where he'd come back in time, one or two might be. Seriously, though that was an excellent plus!

As he walked over to the calender (Girl in a swimsuit. Naruto would have to get a different one; he was more mature now, even if he didn't look it.) to check the date, Naruto thought some more. On the bad side, he'd have to live through the next ten-odd years all over again. Plus side, he could avoid a lot of bad things with his knowledge of the future and replace them with good things. Negative side, he'd need to be able to convince a few key people he actually was from the future if he wanted this to work. That would be difficult and awkward.

He tripped over a pile of clothes in his wandering both physically and mentally. "GAH!" he shouted as he fell. He'd have to clean the rest of his room, too. Another bad thing about coming back to his messier days. He slowly got up, not really in any hurry. On the good side, he got to be a kid again, and have an extra bout of fun before assuming an adult's responsibilities. On the negative side, he couldn't have sake, and more importantly, he wasn't respected by the villagers as an adult yet.

Also, he'd have to go through puberty all over again. Naruto shivered at this realization. _-Wasn't once bad enough?- _he thought, not really expecting an answer from anybody. He didn't get one, either. He thought some more. _-Man...there's a lot more that's bad about this situation than there is good. I mean, I guess quality is better than quantity, but...-_ And he thought some more. _-I guess it's good for everyone else, though. So, I guess...I'll just have to suck it up and bear this weight.-_ He sighed, sitting back on his bed and forgetting for a little bit about checking his calender. After all, he was in no hurry...did he think that once already? _-Not like I can do anything to change my situation...I don't even know how I got back here!- _And he groaned.

Then, something very precious and good occurred to Naruto. This time around, he wouldn't have to be so oblivious to Hinata.

He grinned at this thought, instantly throwing out the entirety of the 'Good' and 'Bad' piles and setting up his new goal for life on a pedestal. _-This time, I'm not gonna let Hinata be miserable!-_ He closed his eyes, beaming and with his arms behind his head he stood back up. _-I'm gonna show her we were made for each other...and then we can get married like she wanted to!-_ He suddenly groaned slightly as a thought hit him: he'd have to wait a few years to get married, too. On top of Hinata not being ready mentally for such things (not remembering their being sweethearts and all), twelve-years-olds getting married was typically...frowned upon in polite society.

Now, there were cases of ninja getting married at only slightly older ages. Rare, but certainly cases. Civilians still thought this practice strange, and perhaps even morally wrong, but other ninja understood that neither of these presumptions was correct. After all: A) The two ninja getting married, even at their young age, would probably be closer to each other and more likely not to get divorced than civilians of a much older age, since not many civilians saved each other's lives on a regular basis, B) The marriage, despite being between two teenagers, would be more likely not just be based on sexual desire, since ninja were specifically trained to not let their emotions get the best of them and to think things through, and C) a shinobi's life was often a short life. To delay getting married might just mean not getting married at all. This didn't mean 15-year old weddings were common or anything, but when they did happen, at least those involved weren't seen as unprepared idiots in puppy love.

...and besides all that, Naruto was planning to propose to Hinata the day he'd been kidnapped. Bought the ring and everything. It was going to be hard enough waiting three more years, but to put it off longer? Out of the question...well, maybe when they were sixteen and not fifteen. Yeah, that was probably for the best.

He grinned some more, and giggled at the realization of exactly how out-of-nowhere his confession to Hinata that he liked her like that would be, since they were both twelve again. She'd probably faint...he'd do it in public so everyone's jaw would drop...probably do something really romantic and out of character for him. Hey, if he was gonna relive his life, he should have fun with it, right? _-I'll definitely have to get rid of that calender now,- _he chuckled. _-Hinata would have a heart attack if she saw.-_

A thought struck him. _-Right, the calender! Gotta check exactly when I came back!- _He opened his eyes again, walking over to the calender. As he did so, he thought of over-the-top ways (could there be any others?) to confess his undying love to his destined one. He thought a lot in those few footsteps. Came with the shinobi territory _-Let's see...flowers? Too stereotypical. Cinnamon Rolls? Better, but not good enough. A romantic song? Yeah, like I can write, or sing for that matter. Or even play an instrument. I should probably learn, though, sometime. Put the extra time I'm being forced to live through to good use. Um...wait, I've got it! Yeah, that will totally wo...-_. The grin immediately dropped off his face, the dropping motion continuing with his arms, now hanging limply at his sides. His thoughts of romance had been shattered by the last red X on the calender, indicating today was the day. _The_ day. The day of _the_ 'sparring session'. And then...

_-The night Sasuke leaves!- _Naruto shouted in his head, now exceedingly panicked. A few seconds of silent staring a the calender passed. He snapped out of that as quickly as possible. _-I have to do something!-_ He rushed over to his dresser drawers, grabbing his trademark quasi-jumpsuit _(-Orange is okay, but nothing but? What was I thinking?-) _and his headband, putting them on quickly, and dashing out the door.

His twelve-year-old stomach persuaded him to go to Ichiraku's first.

**0-0-0-0**

Tsunade thought today was going to be a boring day of nothing but paperwork. Well, she was right the first time around. But this time? Veeeeery wrong.

She sighed, looking up to Shizune. "Please, can't I take a break? Just one bottle of sake, I swear..."

"You and me both know that 'one bottle' is going to turn into six or seven, Lady Tsunade," responded Shizune responsibly. "Besides, you're way behind. You need to start keeping better track of your work."

"Yeah, yeah," waved Tsunade. Shizune looked miffed, but the older lady paid her no mind. _-Sheez, you'd think _she_ was Hokage or something, the way I'm taking orders...-_

"Lemme in! Lemme in!" came a familiar nine-tailed-infused voice from just outside the door. "I have to see La-er, Grandma Tsunade! Right now! It's mega-important!"

"Hoo boy," said Shizune. "Naruto." She shook her head. "When will he learn that he can't just barge in here whenever he wa-"

"Send him in," shouted Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade!" startled Shizune, eyes wide and teeth showing. Classic over-the-top anime reaction. She suddenly looked serious. "You're trying to get out of doing paperwork, aren't you?"

"Maybe," said Tsuande with a twinkle in her eye. "But then again, Naruto did say it was important. And even if it's not, I'm sure whatever he has to say will be...interesting."

"Oink," squealed Tonton as the door opened. Naruto, rubbing a bruised cheek and looking angry, walked in. Surprisingly, the ANBU behind him were rubbing various parts of their body as well, as if Naruto had managed to hurt them. But that was silly. A Genin-level ninja could never hurt one of the ANBU...could they?

"Bunch of jerks," Naruto grunted. Then he breathed in through his nose. _-Okay,-_ he thought. _-Just because you're young again and have to deal with hormones and all that, and just because right now is a very important time, doesn't mean you should get excited.-_ He breathed out again, through his mouth. "Alright," he said. "I rushed straight over here to tell you this, so please listen."

_-Please?-_ Shizune thought, now suspicious. _-Since when does Naruto say 'please'?-_

"...well, okay, yeah, first I grabbed a bite to eat at Ichiraku's...but only 'cause I knew I had a little extra time!"

_-Never mind, it's Naruto,-_ thought Shizune, breathing a sigh of relief.

"So, Naruto," said Tsunade as Shizune decided to start glowering at her. "What exactly is this 'mega-important' thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Okay," said Naruto, raising his palms. "So, here's the thing: Sasuke's gonna wake up today. Really soon."

Tsunade blinked. "He should. That's what I diagnosed would happen." She smirked slightly, figuring his and Sasuke's rivalry was going to play into all this somehow. "There something wrong with that?"

"YES! I mean, no, I mean..." he paused for a moment. "Look, Sasuke's gonna make the worst mistake of his life tonight if we don't do something to stop him."

"Naruto, what are you talking about?" asked Shizune, exasperated.

"I'm talking about Orochimaru!" Naruto said, not explaining things very well at all. "He's gonna try and turn Sasuke into one of the bad guys! Tonight! And Sasuke's going to accept!"

Tsunade blinked, her mouth set in a thin line. She slowly raised up one pointer finger, then crooked it repeatedly towards her. Naruto obediently walked up to her desk. She raised up her fist, an angry look on her face. WHAM! "ARE YOU CRAZY?" she shouted as Shizune leaned back slightly, hand across lips and eyes widened in fear. Naruto held his head, a bump rapidly forming. "I've seen some stupid pranks before, Naruto, but this takes the cake!"

"What prank?" asked Naruto, much less angry than one from this timestream would expect him to be. "I'm telling the absolute, one-hundred-percent truth here!"

"Give me a break!" Tsunade continued shouting, emphasizing each word in its own special way a she stood up. "You want me to take valuable staff off of duty so they can stand around Sasuke and restrain him for no reason other than for you to get a sick laugh!"

"What?" Naruto asked, not angry at all now. "Well, that would be pretty funny, but-"

WHAM!

"I knew it!" Tsunade said triumphantly and angrily at the same time. "Naruto, this isn't just painting over the Hokage Monument or something else that be cleaned up and forgotten!" She leaned over Naruto's agony, yelling down at him. "What if someone attacks the village while I've got my best fighters employed in your little prank? What if something really important happens while they're on duty with Sasuke, huh? What if-"

Instead of springing up from his crouching position, Naruto instead calmly stood and looked up at Tsuande as she yelled down to him. "Lady Hokage, I'm being completely serious."

Shizune and Lady Hokage reared back, terrified. "OINK!" cried Tonton in alarm.

"Did...did you just call me..." 'Lady Hokage' stuttered, fearful for her life.

Naruto leaned forward, hands lying on Tsuande's desk, looking straight at the desk-owner's face the whole time. "I'm from the future. I don't know exactly how, but I somehow got sent back in time ten years. So I know what's going to happen tonight unless we do something." He leaned forward a little more. "I know, you don't believe it. I don't expect you to. But I promise it's the truth." He grinned that familiar grin. "And I never go back on my word! That's my nindo, my ninja way!"

Tsunade blinked a few times.

Shizune blinked a few times.

Tonton blinked a few times. "Oink?"

Tsuande slowly reached back over her desk. She then gently lay her palm on Naruto's forehead. "No fever..." she murmured. "So if it's not just delirium, it must be-"

"This is serious!" said Naruto, determined, causing Tsunade to back off again. Over Naruto's head, she sent a look to Shizune, who nodded.

The medical-ninja, Jonin, and Hokage's personal assistant slowly began moving behind Naruto, pulling out three prepared needles, dipped in tranquilizer. _-If he doesn't have a fever, and he made us a promise,- _thought Shizune, finishing Tsunade's diagnosis for her, _-He's either gone insane, or he's an imposter.-_ She prepared herself for attack, aiming for three non-vital parts of her target's neck. _-Either way, we need to put him to sleep, if only for a little bit.-_

"Look, I don't care if you believe me or not," said Naruto, oblivious to the danger just behind him. "Trust me! I swear, if it turns out I'm wrong, I'll take whatever punishment you give out." He slapped his hands on the table, loudly. "But you have to do what I say! I'll-" And he was interrupted, as Shizune struck, punching at his neck with the three needles in between her fingers.

Tsunade gasped as Naruto spun around, grabbing Shizune's wrist before she got within a foot of his neck. Another twist and another fraction of a second, and Shizune looked surprised. Naruto brought her hand behind her back, driving it into her spine as he stole her needles and held them at the ready himself. Shizune cried in pain and startledness as her shoulder twisted unnaturally.

Another second or two passed.

Naruto let go, causing Shizune to fall forward slightly. She turned quickly, to find a sheepish Naruto standing in front of her. "Sorry," he said, blushing a littley and scratching the back of his head with his non-needled hand. "Reflex."

Tsunade's mouth was agape. "When did you learn how to do that?"

Naruto looked serious again. "Eight years from now," he said as he threw the needles into the ceiling. Obviously, they stuck. "Approximately. Now are you gonna listen to me or not?"

Tsunade was still for a few moments before sitting at her desk once more. She leaned back, closing her eyes, center of her fist meeting chin as she grabbed the fist-making arm with the other. She 'bounced' her clenched hand against her chin a few times, then extended the index finger toward Naruto as she opened her eyes. "You could still be an imposter, trying to trick me," she noted.

Naruto simply smiled at this. He walked forward, Shizune (a little scaredly) getting out of his way. He imitated Tsunade's gesture from earlier, pointer finger crooking towards him. She leaned forward. He leaned forward and slightly to the side. Tsuande, getting the idea, obligingly turned her head. Naruto leaned the rest of the way, whispering in her expectant ear.

Shizune, despite herself, was curious. _-What's he saying to her?-_ She pondered, leaning in juuuust a little bit closer...

Tsunade suddenly looked incredibly frightened, then turned and grabbed Naruto by the collar, lifting him off of the ground. "HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THAT?" she roared.

Despite it all, Naruto kept smiling the same mischievous smile he was (in)famous for. "You told me," he said simply.

"That's a load of bull!" shouted Tsuande, pulling Naruto a little closer to her face to compensate for the fact that she didn't think she could yell that loudly again. Also so he could see the anger in her eyes. "I've never told anyone about that! Not even Shizune!"

_-Now I'm REALLY curious!-_ Shizune thought, grinning a devilish grin. _-This sounds juicy...-_

"Heh," chuckled Naruto. That mischievous grin turned into an outright fox-like one. "Think you'd ever tell anyone if you were drunk?"

"What?" asked Tsunade, eyes widening.

"You took me to a bar to celebrate a job well done on a really important mission," explained Naruto. "You got so drunk. You told me everything!" He suddenly looked a little sick. "Then you started coming on to me...it was pretty awkward for everyone involved." He looked a little more sick. "Especially since I'd been dating Hinata for a month by that time...and she was there with us." He looked up at her, eyebrow raised and mouth downturned concernedly. "You know, you act really weird when you're drunk."

Shizune lost against the urge to start laughing, loudly, as Tsunade's blush increased. "Why you little-" she said, letting go with one hand and raising her fist.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" shouted Naruto. He suddenly unzipped his jacket, landing on the ground in his black undershirt. Trying to escape, obviously. Awfully quick about it, too, faster than one from this version of reality would expect. "You're the one who'll tell me!"

Tsunade blinked as the anger dissipated as a direct result of her realizing exactly what it meant that Naruto knew that. It meant two things: that she should never ever ever get drunk in public, and that Naruto really _was_ from the future. She dropped Naruto's jacket on the floor as she plunked back down in her chair, awestruck. She slowly gained control of her face again, looking serious as she steepled her fingers in front of her lips and shifted forward in her chair. "Naruto..." she warned. "If this is all somehow some kind of prank, I will find out sooner or later. And when I find out, I will bring down all of Konoha on your head." She narrowed her eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto just grinned that foolproof grin as a response. That was one picture definitely worth a thousand words, all trustworthy. Shizune, meanwhile, had stopped laughing as realization slapped her across the face too, and was now looking at the twelve-year-old in front of her in astonishment. _-Or is that 22-year-old?- _she thought. _-Do we refer to him as an adult or child on his forms now?-_ She shook her head. _-This day is just too weird...-_

"Alright," said Tsunade finally. Naruto picked up his jacket and began putting it on again. Tsunade absently took notice of the way the sunlight gleamed off of his/her necklace while she continued speaking. Always a good reminder of exactly why she became Hokage. "Well...if what you say is true...I'd like you to do two things for me."

Naruto nodded, listening intently and seriously. "Alright."

Tsunade smiled suddenly and widely. "Can you call me 'Lady Hokage' again?"

Naruto was livid. "Lady Hokage," he said. A bit angrily, but he said it.

Tsunade laughed with joy. "Ah, it warms my heart to hear you say that, Naruto."

Naruto crossed his arms, purposefully acting like his younger self again. "Yeah, whatever, Grandma, what's the second thing?"

Tsunade sighed. _-I shouldn't have egged him on...-_ Out loud, she was serious again. "I need you to tell me about as much of the future as you can before Sasuke wakes up." Her eyes narrowed again. "This could be vital information."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Right," he said softly.

**0-0-0-0**

The next 25 minutes were occupied by a heavily abridged and nearly breathless paradigm-shattering story of ten years hence and the time in between that only Naruto could tell, and furthermore only Naruto could make you believe. "...and so Madara exploded in this huge burst of some weird-colored light, and the next thing I know I'm twelve years old again, waking up to the ringing of my alarm clock." He looked up at the ceiling with his eyes, thinking about the best way to wrap things up. "Then I had some ramen..." He looked back at Tsunade, smiling over a job well done and a story well told. "And now I'm here!"

Tsunade had stopped looking serious, and was now looking comically disturbed, arms hanging limply at her side. "What..."

Shizune's head was turned horizontally, and her mouth was open as wide as the rest of her face was tall, she was so confused. "...the..."

Tonton's eyes had turned into swirls, and she was on her back, twitching. "...oink?"

Tsuande leapt up, taking her turn at slamming her palms on the table. "You're telling me I died because Madara Uchiha summoned a pack of _wolverines_ to attack me?"

Naruto scowled at her. "_That's _the most important thing you got out of all this?"

"No, it's just the thing I have the most trouble believing!" responded Tsuande before sinking into her chair with a sigh. She turned to the side, silhouette profiled by the sun. She looked sideways at Naruto. "So...what are we supposed to do now?"

"I dunno," said Naruto, cleaning out his ear with his pinky. It was fun disrespecting his elders again! "That's what I came here to ask about."

Tsuande "Hmm..."ed, then swiveled back to Naruto. "First of all, don't tell anyone else about this. You're bothered enough by the Village as is...telling them that you're able to predict what might happen in the next ten years would just compound things, whether they saw your knowledge as a blessing to them or just some new power of the demon sealed inside of you."

Shizune looked at her mistress. "Lady Hokage," she asked, "Are you sure that's wise?"

"No, I'm not," said Tsunade in response. "But we can't risk panicking the population. And I'm pretty sure they'd be panicked if they knew the village is apparently going to be destroyed in ten years."

"Not this time," vowed Naruto, raising his fist with his fingers curled towards him at chest level. "I won't let that happen!"

"I believe you," assured Tsunade, laughing a little. "Probably more than I should." And she frowned again. "But that doesn't mean everyone will...some might take you seriously...some might not. Some might believe your story...and some might not." She shook her head. "At any rate, there'd be no chance of your living a normal life." She looked up at Naruto, smiling again, as a grandmother (though she detested the term) might smile at a grandson whom she was proud of. "And it sounds like after all you've been through, you could use a normal life."

"Nah," said Naruto, smirking sincerely (if such a thing could be accomplished). "Just not one so depressing, is all. I like weird!"

Shizune laughed, now, while Tsunade and Tonton smiled. "Alright, then," said Tsunade. "Then I have a 'weird' mission for you. A very important weird mission."

Naruto leaned forward slightly, ready for the worst, and willing if it would truly help. "Yeah, what is it?" he asked.

Tsunade's smile increased, and her eyes closed. "Throw Sasuke a party."

"Huh?" asked everyone else in the room. That was a little _too _strange a mission.

"Make sure you let him know how much he means to you," she said. "Tell him how strong he's been getting. Invite all your friends, chips, soda, anything you want, as long as it isn't illegal!" She leaned forward slightly. "Or at least not _too _illegal," she winked.

"Lady Tsunade!" scolded Shizune as Naruto grinned, giggling.

Tsunade giggled as well. "I'm kidding, I'm just kidding!" She seemed jubilant, even proud of herself for thinking this 'strategy' up. "If we can get Sasuke to stay in the village willingly, so much the better. Plus, I won't have to waste any guards on Sasuke's room. Sound good to you?"

Naruto grinned. "I got it. A party, huh?" He laughed. "Well, that 'sounds' like my kind of mission! Don't worry, Grandma Tsunade, I won't let you down!" he yelled over his shoulder as he left the office, not even bothering to let her tell him how highly-ranked his mission was, or whether he'd get an official budget for decorations and whatnot.

"Naruto!" called Tsunade after him, intending to let him know of all the details. It seems the years hadn't changed Naruto all that much, though, as he raced out the door, boisterous grin on his face, unhearing of her words. She sighed again, sitting back down.

"Oink," said Tonton happily.

Shizune giggled. "He'll never change, will he?"

"I guess not," said Tsunade with a smile. "And here I was, hoping that he'd mature over the years." She looked down at her desk for a few seconds, then sulked. She looked up at Shizune. "Do I really have to do all this?" she asked.

"Depends," said Shizune, very irresponsibly. "Will you tell me what Naruto said to you?"

"Not on your life."

"In that case, yes," said Shizune. Tsunade sighed. "Sorry, but not everything can be as exciting as talking with time travelers," shrugged Shizune as she walked away to check for more paperwork her Hokage could do. _-I'll give you so much you'll _have _to tell me your secret just to make it stop!- _And she cackled evilly, though only in her head.

Tsunade, unaware of exactly how much danger she was in, groaned. "As if this stuff wasn't boring enough before, now I've got something to compare it to!" She frowned. "The life of a Hokage...what a chore."

"Oink!" oinked Tonton.

* * *

But _why _is the rum gone?

At any rate, I'd have to agree with Tsunade, here...I'd much rather talk to a time-traveler for an extended period than do one sheet of paperwork. Even if that time-traveler did have disturbing insights into how I might die. ("Yeah, you died by getting hit by a water balloon...well, okay, the water balloon hit your hearing aid/iPod combo and short circuited it, sending an electrical charge into your brain. Your family's suing the company forty-eight years from now.")

...also, I hope my explanation for why a shinobi might get married at an age we would call unusually young was adequate. (I just didn't want to make Naruto wait any longer than he had to, that's all!) Even after typing it all out, though, getting married at fifteen, whether one was financially stable and mentally prepared or not, still seemed off to my American, Generation Y mind. So I added one more year on in Naruto's case. Sixteen still seemed young, but a lot more acceptable to my brain for some reason. What a difference a year makes, I guess.

Oh, and Shikamaru's sage advice is actually a quote from Sherlock Holmes. It may be paraphrased, but I'm not sure. I don't have that excellent a memory, but I do know I'm close. At least I think I am...

...and sorry, no Omake this time. In fact, they'll probably be pretty rare. I'll try to come up with one as often as I can, though, and have it relate somehow to the chapter I'm writing. Oh, well, at any rate, God bless and Good Night! Play me off, Keyboard Meerkat!

...why is there silence?

**EDIT:** Oh, that's why. Forgot to finish one sentence, that's been remedied. Also called Tonton 'Tenten' once. Please don't ever tell the Weapons Mistress about this. She'd kill me if she knew.

**EDIT 2: **Also a bunch of spelling errors. Sorry about that. Don't know what happened this chapter...I admit almost every one of my chapters has had some, but this one just seemed riddled. Well, it's (mostly) fixed now.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, a quick question...do you spell it 'lightbulb' or 'light bulb'? From what I understand, both are acceptable, but I'm curious.

Hello! Chapter three here with AProcrastinatingWriter of No Time this Regrets Around!

...wait. Let me try that again.

Hello! AProcrastinatingWriter here with chapter three of No Regrets this Time Around! WARNING: More out-of-character moments, though hopefully only with Naruto and the other person who has come back by this point. Maybe with other people too, though.

Phew. That could have been messy. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter you are about to read. This is the chapter where the romance starts. A little too spontaneously for the suspicions of some very eagle-eyed Chunin...no, not that one. You'll see which one when you read. Anyway, to the chapter! I think I'm gonna make more than one fangirl scream in delight somewhere around the middle of it...

**EDITED-IN WARNING: **I just realized that there's a massive plothole in this chapter. Thankfully, I've always been good at explaining those away, heh. At any rate: if you spot the plothole, awesome, I'll have it fixed in the next chapter. If you don't spot the plothole, awesome, I'll have it fixed in the next chapter. With that said, I _think _it's safe to read now.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

**WHAT IS GOING ON IN THAT MIND OF HIS?**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO TELL WHETHER YOUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN TIME TRAVELING, OR ARE JUST INSANE**

**

* * *

**Of all the places he could wake up, Sasuke would not have thought the Leaf Village's hospital would have been in even the top hundred of them. And yet here he was. And apparently they'd done a pretty good job stitching him up, because his body wasn't in agony anymore. In fact, he barely hurt at all. There was only one real problem with this whole situation.

The hospital had been one of the first buildings to go in the attack on the Village.

So logic indicated that Sasuke was either in a genjutsu or that he had been out cold for months. Neither of these options particularly appealed to him, but no other explanation seemed possible. Sasuke slowly sat up in his bed, blinking the sun out from his eyes as best as he could. Once his coal orbs were used to the bright light, Sasuke looked out the window. Everything looked normal, which in and of itself was abnormal.

He shook his head. Trying to clear out the cobwebs. He lay back down. He grimaced. Nothing seemed right to the Uchiha for some reason. Like his body was using its five senses differently than normal. Especially touch; everything he touched felt different than it did yesterday...or, at least, what had been yesterday in his form of perception.

A knocking was heard at the room's door. "Sasuke? Are you awake yet?"

Sasuke sat up in his bed again. _-Sakura,-_ he thought. He was uncertain of how to face her, even if she said she'd forgiven him. But nothing good ever came from putting things off. "Yeah. Come in."

The door opened inwards, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Sakura's arm's weren't burnt, and she was wearing a different outfit. "Hey, there," Sakura said as Sasuke thought more about the scene in front of him. She seemed skinnier...maybe a little shorter? He couldn't tell...what was that she was carrying? As if reading his mind, Sakura shifted the bag she was carrying, putting one arm into it and drawing out a red object. "Look! I brought you some apples!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in realization and horror as lightning struck him from his brainstorm.

**0-0-0-0**

"...what?" asked Shikamaru finally.

"I said we're gonna throw a party for Sasuke!" responded Naruto, who had gathered his closest friends (or at least, those who would be his closest friends in the future) in an abondoned wwarehouse he had paid a lot of the mission money for. Silence from aforementioned closest friends met him as a response. He groaned. "Come on, you guys..."

"No," said Neji. It had occurred to Naruto that some of his friends might have been sent back in time as well, but they didn't seem to give off any hints towards that being the case. "I have training to do." And with these words, he turned and headed towards the exit of the warehouse. Others followed, murmuring in their own way.

Naruto sighed again. Then, he started, as Ino was suddenly next to him, grinning like the schoolgirl with a crush she was. "I can help you, Naruto!" Her eyes became starry, and one could almost swear there were hearts forming behind her. "I'll make this the best party ever! Sasuke is sure to love it!" And she sighed, lost in daydreams of romancing and dancing and prancing and glancing.

_-Well, that's one,-_ thought Naruto.

"Umm..." came a small, still voice from behind him.

_-And that's two,-_ thought Naruto, grinning. He turned to the girl behind him. "Yeah?" he asked, keeping up the oblivious act. "What is it, Hinata?"

"I-I think it's really sweet of you," she mumbled, playing with her fingers. "T-that is, to have a p-party for your f-f-friend." She blushed and slowly brought her eyes up to meet Naruto's. "I'll h-help you however I c-can." She brought her eyes down again. "But I don't think I can do much..." she said under her breath.

"Thanks a lot, Hinata!" Naruto said, placing his hand on her shoulder and inwardly laughing at her delighted blush. _-I'll need to get her to stop being so shy all over again, won't I?-_ he thought, still grinning. _-And I'll also need to get used to her having short hair...not that it looks bad or anything, just...different.- _ He pretended not to have heard the last, quietest part of her already quiet speech. "You're sure to be a big help! You know, 'cause you're so good at planning and stuff."

"R-really?" asked Hinata softly.

Once again, Naruto pretended not to have heard her, instead facing away, getting an angry face, and stepping forward, slowly, just as Neji reached the door. "Come on, Neji," whispered Lee. "It is for a good cause. Would it be so wrong if we were to stay for just an hour or two?"

"We have training to do," said Neji, as he opened the metal panel in front of him. "And besi-"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" said a voice in front of him. Neji jumped, which was in itself surprising, though everyone else was too busy jumping as well to notice. "YOU'RE STAYING AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"What on...Earth?" Neji breathed. Admittedly, he hadn't been using his Byakugan, but still...how did Naruto get in front of him instead of behind him, and outside as well, when this was the only exit? And so quickly! He remembered his training again as his face became neutral and his tone heavy. "Why do you care so much?" he asked the blonde standing before him.

Naruto grinned, uncrossing his arms and holding his fist into the air. "Well, for one thing," and he held up the pointer finger, "Sasuke's my friend. He's all our friends. So we need to do things for him, right?"

"To be honest, I never really liked the guy," said Shikamaru.

Chōji nodded his agreement, swallowing another chewed-up handful of chips. "He always seemed kind of stuck-up to me."

"That's an understatement," said Kiba. Akamaru barked, and it didn't take a dog-whisperer like Kiba to know he was saying he agreed as well.

Naruto held out his middle finger as well. The peace sign. "And for a second thing," he said, expression and voice put on as if no one had said the things they had just said. "This is a mission from Grandma Tsunade, so you can't not do it!"

"Huh?" asked everyone in the departing crowd, eyebrows raised. Neji was the only one who continued. "You honestly expect us to believe that Lady Hokage gave us all a mission to have a party?"

"Yes, I do!" _-Actually, no, I don't...-_

Neji scowled. "Ridiculous," he said. "Now stand aside, Naruto. I do not wish to move you by force."

"Yeah, yeah, as if you could," Naruto responded, pushing Neji over with one hand as he walked back into the room. Everyone was suitably surprised at this. "Alright, everybody!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically, though that adverb really goes without saying. "Let's get to work! Got a lot of decorations to set up, food to lay out, gotta hang the disco ball-"

"A disco ball?" asked Tenten, incredulous. "Are you crazy?"

"Like a fox!" said Naruto. _-Years from now, when they find out, they're going to look back on this moment and laugh at how clever that was. Wait and see.-_

"Did you say food?" asked Chōji, stepping forward with a watering mouth.

"Enough for you and everybody else!" said Naruto, thumb up. Once again, everyone was startled. That was a _lot _of food.

"ALLLLLLRIIIIIIGHT!" shouted Chōji in response, steam pouring from his nostrils. "I'M IN!"

"Well, looks like I'm stuck," said Shikamaru, tilting his head. He seemed bored. Obviously. "Both of my teammates are helping, so I guess I've got to too." He scrunched his nose up as he said his next words, turning back and walking further into the warehouse. "What a drag."

Rock Lee smiled his blinding smile. "I will help as well!"

"Lee..." growled Neji from the floor. "Don't encourage him."

Lee frowned. "But...such enthusiasm!" Now a determined look. "I must do my part as well!"

Tenten sighed. "There's no getting around it, Neji. We're staying."

Neji scoffed. "Fine," he said bitterly, standing up. "Are you happy, Naruto?" Naruto nodded.

Kiba grinned. "You know, I may not like Sasuke that much, but I love a good party!"

Akamaru barked again. "Arf!"

"But it won't be much of a party unless we get some more people here..." Kiba said, looking thoughtful.

Naruto looked thoughtful too. "I thought so too, but I didn't know who else to ask..."

"Well, just leave that to me!" Kiba chuckled. "I know everybody, and everybody loves me! Especially the ladies," and he let off a 'restrained' wolf howl.

"Alright!" said Naruto. "Kiba, you are the man!"

"I suppose I'll get started decorating, then," said Shino in an absolutely mirthless voice. "You know, Naruto your enthusiasm for this party..." He smiled slightly behind his collar but did not change his voice. "It's rather infectious. Even I'm getting excited." He turned and began walking towards the boxes which he assumed contained the decorations from the various multi-color things that were poking out of the box.

Everyone blinked after him, slightly scared. Except Neji, who did not react. "...okay. Weird," said Naruto, taking charge of the situation. "Alright, Hinata and Ino will be in charge of where to put the decorations-"

"Alright!" fist-pumped Ino, who had not spoken up for a while, being nervous about whether this little shindig was happening or not. Hinata smiled slightly. "Don't worry about a thing, Naruto! This is going to be the best party ever!" She sighed. "And it's all for my Sasuke...when he sees how well I've put up the decorations, he'll be sure to fall head over heels for me!"

"_Ino,"_ said Sasuke in her fantasies. _"These decorations are absolutely beautiful...almost as beautiful as you are."_

"_Oh, Sasuke..."_ responded Ino happily.

"_I can't stand that forehead of Sakura's any longer,"_ he continued. _"Please, Ino...won't you be my ninja bride?"_

Ino giggled happily at this whilst blushing, and not in the fantasy either. Everyone else sweatdropped. "...right," said Naruto, hoping there wouldn't be any more interruptions. "Kiba will find more guests for the party," and here Kiba smiled and chuckled again, though this did not interrupt Naruto. "Tenten can be DJ-"

_Now_ the interruption. "Wait, what?" asked Tenten, stepping back. "I'm not a-"

"Trust me," said Naruto, interrupting in return. "You've got a talent for it." He smiled that trustworthy smile. "Believe me, I can tell!"

Tenten blinked. Neji scowled again. "Preposterous." He shook his head. "All of this is just preposterous."

"And the rest of you can decorate!" Naruto finished. "Welp, I'm going to go get Sasuke and get him to come to the party! See ya!"

"Wait a second!" Ino stopped him with her voice after two steps. "Why do you get the easy job?"

Naruto turned. "Getting Sasuke here is 'easy'?" he asked.

"He has a point," said Shikamaru, putting up some more lights. He and Shino were the only ones currently decorating. And Hinata was directing them. It was a very strange day. "I know I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now." _-Naruto's _or _Sasuke's...-_

"Right, exactly, got it," said Naruto, having looked at the clock and seen what time it was. "Gotta go, see you later!"

The others stared at him for a few seconds as he ran out the door and into the street before bounding onto a nearby rooftop. "Is it just me, or did he seem different to you guys too?" asked Tenten.

"Seemed the same to me," said Kiba, walking out the door as well while everyone else began working on their respective jobs. "Loud and obnoxious as usual."

Tenten paused for a second before going over to a table and picking up a book Naruto had left behind. Looked like it'd be useful. "I guess you're right," she mumbled to Kiba, though she knew he couldn't hear her. "Still, what was up with him asking me to play the music for this party? I don't know how to use musical genjutsu..."

Hinata, meanwhile, had had her duties absorbed by Ino, who was doing more than enough ordering of where decorations should go for both of them. Hinata stared after Naruto the longest of anyone. _-No,-_ she thought. _-There really was...there was something diff__erent about Naruto...the way he carried himself...the way he acted...-_ She looked puzzled, but not worried, as the change, though incredibly evident to her, seemed more 'drastic' than it did 'bad'. _-What happened to him on his last mission?- _she wondered.

**0-0-0-0**

She was referring to his mission in the Land of Tea, where he had been assigned to protect a man running in a great race of some importance. Little did she know, though, that Naruto had been through a lot more than that mission in the past 'week'. And that 'lot more' was exactly why Naruto was, rare enough considering who he was, nervous.

He knew what Sasuke would want. A sparring match. A sparring match that both knew from the very beginning and refused to admit to themselves or each other was a lot more than a sparring match. And Naruto knew he couldn't accept that match. But what to _say_ to Sasuke? How to make him understand that friends were waiting for him? That he should stay in the village? That they could help him become strong themselves?

_-No more time to think,-_ Naruto thought, landing before the hospital. He looked up, and saw his best friend, sitting with his back turned to the window. _-It's time to face the music.-_ The man in a boy's body wiped his eyes, finding himself crying slightly for some reason. "Please, Sasuke," he mumbled. "Listen to your friends this time...please." He chuckled. "Wonder how you'll react when I tell you I don't want to spar with you?"

**0-0-0-0**

Judging by how he'd reacted to Sakura so far, Sasuke would probably faint before Naruto got a chance to mention any sparring to him. Let's step back in time, just a minute or two, and not ten years this time around, shall we? This way, we can see firsthand for ourselves how Sasuke and Sakura interacted.

Sakura walked over to Sasuke's bed, bag of apples in her arms. "Let's see..." she murmured as Sasuke's mouth attempted to close itself. "Where did I put that peeler?" She looked around some more. "Oh, there it is!" she exclaimed. "Duh. Left it right on the desk in front of me..." and she sat down, setting the bag of apples on the floor.

As Sakura began peeling and cutting the apples, humming a happy tune to herself, Sasuke inched back, terror in his eyes. _-There's no way!- _He thought to himself. _-Was...was all of it a dream? Or have I really gone back to when I was...-_ He looked down at his hands. _-Sakura...I tried to _kill_ her, and here she is...just peeling apples for me like nothing happened!-_ he looked back over to her, slowly, painfully.

She looked up, eyes closed, not seeing the panic on Sasuke's face. "Here you go!" she said, holding up a toothpick with a piece of apple on it. "Open wide!"

Sasuke blinked, snapping back to logic and reason and conscience, realizing he needed to sort things out later and deal with the current situation right now. _-She's still in love with me,-_ he thought urgently. _-She shouldn't be. I've done too many horrible things to too many innocent people...including her.-_ He stared at the apple impassively, though inside he was anything but impassive. Sakura eventually opened her eyes and saw this. Sasuke gently, without any affection, reached out. _-I have to stop her.-_ "I can feed myself, you know," he said out loud, grabbing the toothpick from her hand. Cold as usual. Except for the imperceptible nervous gulp that occurred.

Sakura looked downcast as Sasuke ate the piece of apple, then reached past her for another one. (It was hard for him to not smile; with his renewed taste buds, the apple was delicious and sweeter than he was used to. Still, he kept up the act.) She could tell he was doing this on purpose, though she couldn't guess why. He bumped her as he brought the apple back to him. Nothing in his actions was mean or cruel in and of themselves, but it was obvious he wanted her to leave, or was simply not paying attention to her at all. She wasn't sure which would be worse. "Right," she said, giggling and attempting to smile. "Stupid of me. Anyway, enjoy them," she said, standing up. She turned and began walking for the door. "See you later."

_-Good. It's working,-_ Sasuke thought, swallowing the last bite. _-She needs to move on. I'm not good for her.- _He sighed. "Just have to keep acting like I always did," he muttered under his breath.

"Hey there! Sakura! Sasuke!" came a voice from the window.

Sakura turned in a snap, surprise blanketing her face like new-fallen snow. Sasuke rocked backwards, forgetting he was sitting up in an extremely small bed. "GAH!" he shouted, falling off of it.

Worry was like sunshine, melting away the surprise on Sakura's face. "Sasuke!" she shouted, running over to him and kneeling down. "Are you alright?" she asked, fangirling again and forgetting all about how Sasuke was treating her before. As per usual. "Naruto, you big jerk!" she shouted up at the window. "You almost killed Sasuke!"

_-You're going to get her hurt, Naruto,-_ thought Sasuke, sighing. Out loud: "What are you doing here?"

"Outside Sasuke's window, no less!" shouted the pink-haired girl, getting angrier by the second.

In the split second between when Sakura yelled and Naruto answered, Sasuke had several more thoughts rapidly run through his head. _-That's right,-_ he thought, obtaining more data for analyzation. _-Naruto was supposed to come in with Sakura, wasn't he...yet here he is at my window. What else has changed this time around?-_

Naruto frowned. "Well, if I'd come in through the door, the nurses would have seen me."

"THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO, YOU MORON!" shouted Sakura, shaking her fist with one arm and subconsciously drawing Sasuke closer to her body with the other.

_-Hey,- _thought Sasuke, forgetting all his continuity-based concerns for the moment and actually smiling a little as his head was pressed into Sakura's chest and stomach. _-This isn't too bad...-_ He blinked, suddenly blushing. Then he scrunched up his face. _-Gah. Puberty. Again.-_

"Yeah, if you're a normal visitor they are," said Naruto. He grinned. "But what if you're trying to sneak someone out?"

"Sneak someone..." Sakura began, confused.

"...out?" finished Sasuke, the same, as he reluctantly pulled himself away from Sakura, though she still held on to him at half-an-arm's length.

"Everyone's having a party for Sasuke!" Naruto said. "Just to celebrate the fact he's still alive after two kind of bad experiences in a row."

"S-seriously?" asked Sasuke, stuttering for what he believed was the first time in his life.

"Seriously?" asked Sakura at the same time, mischievous streak shining through. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Naruto grinned some more. "Come on!" he said. "Hurry! Before someone walks by!"

"Got it!" said Sakura, standing and making Sasuke stand too. She suddenly frowned. "Wait a second," she thought, as Sasuke looked back and forth between the two, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. "What are you standing on?"

"A giant frog," said Naruto.

Sakura frowned, eyes indicating annoyance. "Hardy, har, har..." she said, walking towards the window. She kneeled on top of the bed, leaning forward. Naruto moved to the side to let her through. "What are you real-AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

**0-0-0-0**

"Hey guys!" shouted Naruto, arriving at the warehouse with a creeped-out Sakura behind him. Sasuke was there too, looking around at all the decorations. Streamers, balloons, table with several types of tablecloths, various lights everywhere, and a disco ball. Talk about sloppy, random, and thrown together! It was actually kind of touching. "I've brought the guest of honor!"

Naruto opened his eyes wide in pain, covering his ears. Sakura and Sasuke did much the same thing. As did the rest of the Konoha Eleven...well, except Ino, who was joining in with the cause of the ear-covering. They were covering their ears because of the several girls around Sasuke's age who were screaming his name. And other things. Very high-pitched. They flooded towards him, pushing Naruto to the side. "What are you-" began Sasuke before being engulfed.

Naruto, stumbling, stepped backwards into Kiba. "Hey, watch it!" Kiba said, almost spilling his punch.

"Well, I'm so sorry I got pushed over!" said Naruto sarcastically as he turned. "And what about you? Bringing all these fangirls to Sasuke's party!"

"You said to get guests, I got guests," said Kiba, shrugging.

Akamaru poked his head out from within the coat. "Bark!" the little puppy said, panting.

Naruto frowned. Then he gasped. "You did this on purpose, didn't you!"

"Maybe..." smirked Kiba.

Naruto turned. _-This isn't good...we're trying to get Sasuke to stay in the village, not want to leave it even more!- _He bit his thumb hard, trying to put his anger aside so he could think. _-What can I do to get everyone away from him except for his friends...-_

"GET AWAY FROM HIM, YA TRAMPS!" came a familiar voice. Instantly, every single one of the screeching girls backed off, revealing a slightly dazed Sasuke on the ground and a very angry Sakura looking more bestial than Kiba could hope to look on his best day. She was obviously not carrying an iron club, but several people would later claim she was.

_-That'll work...kind of.-_

While Naruto was thinking that, the only one who didn't back off was Ino, who came roaring through the crowd just as ferally, the same people as before later claiming she had a large flail in her hands. "WHO YOU CALLING A TRAMP, BILLBOARD-BROW?" she shouted.

"OH, THAT OLD INSULT?" shouted Sakura right back as everyone, even those who weren't part of the 'Sasuke Uchiha Admiration Club', backed up several steps. Sasuke himself took the opportunity that was given him and stood up off the ground. Surprisingly, none of his clothes had been ripped off. "TRY AND THINK UP SOMETHING NEW FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, HUH, YOU VENEMOUS HARPY?

Naruto watched in astonishment at what happened next, while everyone else was too busy listening to "OH, I HAVE A BUNCH OF INSULTS, BUBBLE-GUM BRAIN, JUST NOT ONES I CAN SAY IN PUBLIC!" to notice. As the two girls continued to shake the walls of the warehouse they were standing in, Sasuke simply blinked once, then _smiled. _And then, after closing his eyes and shaking his head, he appeared to _chuckle_. He opened his eyes again, slowly, and stood there for a couple moments, smile never leaving his face.

Then he began walking to Naruto. Everyone noticed except the cherry blossom and the boar, but none of the girls in 'love' with him wished to approach him until the two most dangerous of them were certain not to turn their wrath on them. Sasuke continued walking, and everyone was staring now, including Sakura and Ino, who had finally noticed the object they were fighting over had left. "Arf?" questioned Akamaru, tilting his head to the side as Kiba movedaway slightly, not directly in Sasuke's way but feeling uncomfortable being this close to their conversation.

"W-what is it, Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly, fearful of the answer. Last time he had asked that question, Sasuke had tried to kill him.

Sasuke was not smiling anymore. He looked down just a degree, so that his eyes met Naruto's. "I assume you had everything to do with this?"

Naruto grinned, chuckling as he crossed his arms proudly. "Who else?" He shrugged. "I get that you're not much for parties and all, but this is the best way I could think of to let you know..." he stopped for a second, slowly moving his arms into neutral position as his face, just as slowly, became serious. "...to let you know that...we care about you..." and he moved his left hand back up, still just as slowly as before, and gently placed it on Sasuke's shoulder again as he smiled, a sad, small smile. "...Sasuke," he finished, a bit breathily.

"...why would you care about me that much?" Sasuke asked after a few startled seconds. Truth be told, he actually had a pretty good idea of exactly what had happened, the movements in this new world becoming clearer and clearer before his Sharingan eyes. However, he needed to know for sure...and besides, he needed time to evaluate why Kiba was looking at Naruto like the orange-clad ninja had suddenly claimed the sky was made of badgers and lemonade.

"Because you're my friend, Sasuke," Naruto said, trying not to grit his teeth as he brought up his other hand, now turning both his gentle grips into strong ones, one hand on each of Sasuke's shoulders. "And you've...you've seemed so down lately..." Naruto smiled as best he could while Sasuke, unnoticed to him and everyone else, looked around the room. "Well...downer than usual, I mean."

Everyone was staring at Naruto with looks ranging from mild curiosity (Shikamaru, Lee, an unseen Kakashi who had been assigned invisible chaperone duty and was finding it a lot more fun than he thought) to if-looks-could-kill-these-definitely-would stares of shock, despair, and anger. _-Why?- _thought Sasuke, trying to substitute the number that, in this equation, would make 'x' true. _-What exactly is wrong with Naruto's actions in this situation?-_

Chōji had a small ham-and-cheese cracker sandwich stuck at the halfway point between the table of refreshments and his mouth. It had been there quite a while, and the poor chubby Genin just looked more and more confused and scared with every second passing. Naruto continued. "I just want to make you feel better, Sasuke...I know things have been tough for you...don't ask me how, but I know." He leaned in slightly, as Shino slowly lowered his sunglasses, checking to make sure he could see what was going on correctly. "You've got friends, you know. Good friends...the best friends." Tenten dropped the 'Making Music with Genjutsu' book and stood from her seat. "We can help you with whatever you need."

_-Oh. Oh! OH!-_ thought Sasuke, eyes widening slightly. He thought for a very, very short time. _-Okay, gotta let them know Naruto isn't really...wait a second.-_ He smirked slightly, then chuckled darkly.

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto breathed, stepping back a step and bringing his arms halfway down. _-No...not again...-_ thought Naruto.

_-This should be fun,-_ thought Sasuke. _-And after all, I didn't really get to be a teenager the first time around, did I?-_ He looked at Naruto, and half-lidded his eyes. "I get it now...Naruto," he said in a voice quite different from the one he usually used. He suddenly reached out, grabbing Naruto's hands in his own. _-And teenagers pull pranks, right?-_

"Sasuke!" shouted Naruto, looking scared as his best friend slowly pulled their hands towards his chest, Sasuke's hands cupping Naruto's together just above the center of it. "Wh-wh-what are you-"

"I should have known all along , shouldn't I?" Sasuke asked, leaning in a little bit. Naruto took a step back, but could do no more as Sasuke was tightly holding onto his hands. Half of Kiba's facial muscles were scrunched up, and the other half were relaxed, creating quite the comical effect upon his face whilst he dropped his cup., punch spilling everywhere. "I mean, it was so obvious!" Sasuke leaned in closer. Naruto leaned back, grimacing. "Naruto..." Sasuke whispered as smoothly as possible, considering he was in hysterics on the inside.

_-WHAT THE MUSHROOM STALK IS GOING ON HERE?- _thought Shikamaru, actually very much aware of what was going on here as his mouth slowly dropped open in disgust and horror. Neji turned on his Byakugan, rubbed his eyes, turned it off, blinked his eyes, and then turned it on again. He still couldn't make sense of the picture he was seeing. Hinata, surprisingly enough, did not faint, but that was only because she was actually so shocked she had come full circle and was no longer being shocked by what she saw in front of her. She could only stare, mouth slightly open as she was slightly confused.

Chōji, still holding his hors d'œuvre, moved his hand back and tapped it lightly against some random Genin's chest. "Dude! Are you seeing this?"

"I think so," said the teenager. "This is too weird."

"Now, wait, Sasuke," Naruto panicked, trying to backtrack and simultaneously trying to free his hands from Sasuke's oblivious grip. "This isn't what it seems like!"

"There's no need to be frightened, Naruto," said Sasuke, bringing his partner ever closer to his body. Naruto finally freed himself, and Sasuke batted his eyes at his best friend. Then, he stepped forward several times, as Naruto was backing off rapidly.

"Well, would you look at the time!" Naruto shouted loudly. "I think I should really be going! Good to see you again, have fun with your party, yadda yadda..."

He turned to leave, but Sasuke's arm was there in front of him. Naruto turned back to see Sasuke leaning over him with a..._smile_ on his face and a look in his eyes Naruto was very very scared of. He slid down the wall, a weird smile that wasn't really a smile on his own face as he did so. "You know," said Sasuke, in a whisper that could be heard, loud and clear, by everyone in the room, for no one was making a single noise, "I have to say...I don't think it looks that good on me, but..." And he licked his lips, quickly. "I've always liked orange. And you pull it off very nicely."

"Now, Sasuke, wait a second...buddy!" responded Naruto, sweating bullets. He was also blushing, but not for the reasons one might think he would blush in this situation. If that one was a yaoi fangirl, that is. As in: he wasn't turned on, just embarrassed.

Sasuke was also blushing, but he managed to make that embarrassed blush look like a love drunk one. "You know," he said as he brushed Naruto's cheek with his other hand, "Scientists have proven that the color orange is a..." and here his voice took on a much different tone. "Sexual stimulant ."

"Oh...my...gosh..." mumbled Ino, greatly disappointed with today's findings and slowly putting up her palm to her mouth. "This cannot be happening..." _-Sasuke was supposed to fall in love with ME today!- _Sakura, meanwhile, had never felt both overjoyed and disgusted at the same time before. It was a new and very unpleasant situation to feel such. Especially over Sasuke.

Rock Lee's voice suddenly burst from the crowd. "Go, Sasuke!" he shouted, sincerely happy for his friends. "Embrace the power of youth while you are young!" Kakashi, meanwhile, was frozen stiff. And he'd seen a lot of scary things in his life.

Most of the fangirls, just like Sakura, were an odd mix of grossed out and turned on as Sasuke leaned in ever closer, and Naruto slid down some more, trembling. Trembling with fear, though few people in the room realized it. "What do you say we ditch this place and go back to mine?" asked Sasuke, giving his most charming, flirtatious smile to Naruto.

"WHAAAT?" Naruto shouted. This sentiment was echoed by almost everyone else in the room.

"Whoo-hoo! Go for it! While the iron is hot!" shouted Lee, one of the few not screaming 'WHAAAT?' Shikamaru was one of the other ones, bu that was just because he had simply recovered quicker than everyone else...well, mostly. He still found it a little weird, but was otherwise fine. Still...this whole thing had come pretty much out of nowhere...

"It's okay," laughed Sasuke. "Don't worry. I'll be gentle. And don't worry that other people know, either. You don't need to worry about what they think about you," and here his smile became a little more eager as his eyebrows slanted downwards. "And if you want, I can give you a little something to wet your appetite..." And with this murmuring, Sasuke slowly leaned down, lips slightly puckered.

Sakura (along with several other girls and a couple of the guys in the room) grabbed her nose, trying to stop the gush of blood spraying from her nostrils. Hinata, surprisingly enough, still did not faint, and instead simply tilted her head slightly to the side, as if to say 'I don't understand what's going on'. Ino stole Hinata's act, waggling around off balance a bit, entire face red, before fainting. Akamaru's eyes had been covered by Kiba, who looked on the verge of throwing up. And everyone else simply made several vocalizations expressing the fact that they were very very astonished by this course of events.

"N-now wait, Sasuke!" Naruto tried to shout, though the words came out a high-pitched screech as Sasuke's lips came within an inch of touching his own. "SASUKE!" he finally yelled, though he yelled like a girl.

Sasuke suddenly reared back, chortling like a madman. "You...you..." he began, then went right back to laughing, pointing at the victim who had suffered the most in his little prank. Everyone was staring again, unsure whether Sasuke laughing was something to be more or less startled about than Sasuke attempting to kiss Naruto. "You should have seen the look on your face!" and Sasuke dropped to his knees, laughing so hard he thought he would burst. He pounded his fist on the ground as he kept right on laughing.

"What...that was a..." murmured Naruto. He suddenly looked extremely angry, vein popping from his forehead. "THAT WAS A PRANK?" he shouted, raising his fist threateningly.

"What's the matter?" laughed out Sasuke. "Disappointed?" And the laughs came back louder and stronger than ever.

In fact, they were joined by a second set of laughing. "That was excellent, Sasuke!" shouted Rock Lee. "I am most impressed with your pranking skills!" He began to laugh again. "You truly do make an excellent actor! Ha ha!"

Other people began laughing, reluctantly at first but stronger and with more people joining in as Naruto got angrier and angrier at the boy who was spazzing out on his back over the prank he'd just pulled. Kiba was one of the first and one of the most genuine as he walked over. "Okay, I take it back," he chuckled, "Dude, you're awesome!" And the chuckles became giggles, and then laughter again.

Sasuke stood up, now back in control of his body, though he clutched at his sides as he kept laughing. "That was so choice!" he said, pointing at Naruto, who was reaching out his arms towards Sasuke's neck and wringing his hands. Kiba and Lee kept up the genuine laughing, slowly joined in by many of the awkwardly forced laughers in the crowd. Whose laughing was also becoming genuine, as stated before.

"You got that right!" gasped out Kiba.

Sakura's eye twitched, hands covering mouth and nose, as Ino got up. She blinked twice, then looked to her pink-haired rival. "So, wait...Sasuke was just acting?" In response, Sakura rushed off to the girls' restroom, a little bit of her shameful blood leaking from between her fingers. Ino raised an eyebrow. "Okay...weird..."

Kakashi, still unseen, chuckled once, then picked up his book again. _-Good thing,-_ thought Kakashi. _-Not that there's anything wrong with that...but I don't think I could handle having two students of mine be in a relationship as is. Having two male students of mine in a relationship...I'd have no idea what I was supposed to do!.-_

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief as most people, including even Sasuke himself, finally wound themselves down, and the fangirls went into 'sulk' mode, for they felt personally betrayed by Sasuke's little joke. "A prank," said Hinata. "That's all it was...a prank."

"Yeah," said Shikamaru thoughtfully, keeping his eyes dead-fixed on Sasuke. "Just a prank." _-And the fact it was a prank from Sasuke Uchiha,-_ Shikamaru added to himself, _-Worries me. A lot.- _As Naruto moved from angry to worried to confused to back again, and so in cycles moved, Sasuke stood up once again, with a few last giggles. _-And now he's giggling,-_ thought Shikamaru, _-After a major laughing fit. The kind that sends you to the floor. If that's not out of character for Sasuke, I don't know what is.-_

"Alright, then!" said Sasuke with one last laugh somewhere around the 'th' sound, turning to the majority of the people gathered there. "Thank you all very much for your thoughtfulness. I'm feeling much better now." He turned back, smirking. "Naruto helped with that." Naruto fumed as almost everybody else laughed a little bit again. Sasuke smiled, a chilling sight to those who knew him best and a delicious sight for those who wished to be with him. "But you know, I'll really be happy if we can..." the smile turned into a grin, "Get this party started!" he shouted, throwing up his arms to the delight of the crowd.

"That's my cue," breathed Tenten, her hands flashing through the proper signs. "Hope I can do this..."

To everyone's surprise (especially Tenten's), music started pumping, loudly, as the disco ball began spinning, casting bright colors across the dark warehouse. Naruto's anger turned to gladness as the synthesized beats began sounding off from nowhere in particular, filling everybody in the room with a sense of rhythm. "Alright! I love this song!" the hyperactive ninja said.

"I hate this song," the brooding ninja's nature said as it shone through the cheeriness.

_**Everybody dance now!**_

**0-0-0-0**

Everybody danced then. Even Sasuke, who hated the song. And dancing in general. "May I have this dance?" he asked yet another young lady, shouting slightly in order to be heard over the pounding music. The girl giggled as she took his hand, egged on by the other girls in her peer group. Sasuke, smile perhaps a little bit faked, led her to the center of the dance floor.

"It's his sixteenth dance with a specific girl," said Neji, Chief and Only Member of the 'Leaning Against the Wall Brooding' Club that had formed along the day's (which had soon turned into night, enhancing the disco ball's effect) passage. "Along with an unusual number of dances with the populous in general." He had counted on Shikamaru and Sasuke to be members as well, but Shikamaru, oddly enough, was actually putting some effort into enjoying himself. And Sasuke was dancing. "Why is he pandering to them so? He has stated numerous times in the past that he hates fangirls." He looked over to Naruto, who was passing by. "Naruto!"

Naruto jumped, nearly spilling his paper plate of food. "Yeah, what is it?" he asked, turning around.

Neji's eyes narrowed. "Doesn't Sasuke's behavior seem a little...off too you?"

Naruto grinned. "What's the matter? Getting lonely?"

"I"m not in the mood for your mocking ways tonight, Naruto!" shouted Neji, picking up Naruto roughly by the collar. "Now answer the question!"

"Easy, Neji, calm down," said a feminine voice coming up to them. They looked, and saw Tenten, coordinating the remixing of the current song, what the next song to come up would be, and the ebb and flow of the melody within the next song, all with hand signals. "Sorry, Naruto," she said to, well, Naruto. "Neji gets cranky when he doesn't get in his training."

"I'm not cranky," said Neji, dropping Naruto with a suddenness that made him land on his buttocks. He still hadn't spilled his food, amazingly enough. "What I _am_ is furious. I didn't want to be a part of any of this."

"If Shikamaru can stop thinking about sleep and join in the dancing, so can you," responded Tenten. "Only with training instead of sleep." She looked to Naruto again. "By the way, thanks for the job as DJ! I've really got a talent for this!" and she 'slid' one of her hand signs, causing the imaginary record to scratch a few times. Then she grinned.

Naruto was about to respond, but Neji wasn't finished sulking. "I don't think it's really appropriate for shinobi to be having a party when they could be preparing for the possibility of battle."

"One day couldn't hurt, Neji," said Tenten, as Naruto looked back and forth between the two. "Besides, you heard Naruto. Lady Tsunade ordered it."

"I suppose that must actually be the truth, considering no one has come looking for us yet, and we've spent basically the whole day here," admitted Neji. He closed his eyes, frowning. "But all that means to me is that our Hokage is an imbecile."

The record skipped in the wrong place. No one noticed, or at least not badly enough to stop dancing. Tenten turned on her apparent future husband. "Neji Hyuuga!" she scolded. "How could you even say that?"

"It's obviously the truth," he said, as Naruto sighed. "What kind of village leader orders their troops to have a party?"

"The kind that's concerned about one of their 'troops', that's the kind!" said Tenten. "I admit I wasn't fully behind this at first, but now I can see that Sasuke really needs our help." She looked over to where he was dancing. The girl he was dancing with was getting a little too close for his comfort. "I mean, he's trying so hard to be happy it's obvious he must be hurting inside!"

"Then that is his problem, and he has to deal with it," said Neji. "It is not our responsibility to make people feel better every time they start feeling a little depressed."

"Okay," spoke up Naruto. "I'm beginning to feel like a third wheel, here, so I'm gonna leave." He turned away. "Geez, don't know what you see in that guy," he said in a normal voice that was sure not to be heard over the din of the music.

Except that he said it right as the music stopped.

Naruto finally spilled his food as he turned, embarrassment sketched all over his face. Which was nothing compared to the sketched, penciled, colored, and shaded embarrassment all over Neji and Tenten's. "W-what?" said Tenten, the next song not starting up. "Wh-where did you..." she suddenly turned to their audience, who were slightly bemused by the proceedings in front of them. "Um...okay, everybody!" She formed her hands into the Boar sign. "Next song! Ha ha ha...ha..." The next song started over her nervous laughter, a slow one that just screamed "Grab your date." Neji subtly stepped away from Tenten, and she definitely noticed. _-Thanks a ton, Naruto,-_ she said silently, face communicating what she did not say aloud. Naruto scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly as he slowly shuffled off.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was gently turning down several admirers of his who each wanted a chance to tango (or waltz, or salsa, or even lambada) with what they were sure was their true love. "How about me, Sasuke?" asked one girl.

"Or me?" asked another.

"N-no, that's quite..." sweatdropped Sasuke, holding the smile on his face through sheer force of will. "...that's okay. I really don't like slow-dancing..."

"With little kids, right?" asked a sultry voice behind him. Sasuke turned. Ino was there, using a voice that twelve and thirteen year-old girls should not use. And posing with her hip jutted out. "Then how about a real woman?"

Sasuke blinked. Ino wobbled, obviously off-balance in her 'sexy' pose. _-Sure. Have you seen one?-_ Sasuke thought, smirking in his head. "No thank you," he said out loud. "If you'll all excuse me," he said, beginning to stride away, "I'll just be sitting out until another fast so-" He was interrupted (due to his not watching where he was going because he was talking to several disappointed girls behind him) by his running into somebody. "Oof!"

"Ah!" said another female as they both fell down to the ground. The other girls begrudged her her luck. "Oww..."

"Sorry," apologized Sasuke, standing up. He offered his hand. "Here."

"Thank you," said the girl, taking it. She stood up, and their faces were revealed to one another. "Oh! Sasuke!" she exclaimed happily.

_-Sakura,-_ thought Sasuke embarrassedly and with wide eyes and tightly frowning mouth. He looked scared, not that Sakura noticed.

She was too busy looking down at her hand, which was still connected to Sasuke's. She looked up shyly. "Well, um..." she looked back to her hand, then to Sasuke again, a small smile that held big feelings of excitement in it on her face. Her eyes pleaded with Sasuke to ask her to dance, though her mind refused to ask him herself.

Sasuke saw her eyes, and he blushed. "Please excuse me! I have to go to the bathroom!" he shouted. Not said, shouted. Far too loudly. And he let go of her hand and sprinted off, stumbling slightly when he turned for the bathroom door.

If Sakura had taken his actions at face value, she would have felt rejected. But it was Kakashi-sensei's lesson, right? 'Look underneath the underneath'. And so, seeing the way the emotionally difficult Sasuke ran from her, as if he were terrified of death or some equally disliked horror, where he gently rejected those he genuinely wasn't interested in dancing with, Sakura gently blushed herself and put her hand to her lips. She did this because she was amazed at the developments in Sasuke's heart that had been revealed to her that night. _-Sasuke,-_ she thought, bringing her hand back and smiling with joy.

The other girls watching were confused, not knowing very much about Sasuke besides that he was 'deep' and 'such a hottie'. Ino, knowing Sasuke very well, looked absolutely devastated.

**0-0-0-0**

Sasuke leaned over the sink, splashing cold water onto his face. After a few rounds of this, he turned the handle controlling the cold-water-valve, stopping the stream of water flowing from the faucet. _-Best not to hesitate, huh, Sasuke?- _he thought sarcastically. He breathed in great gulps of air in time with the beat of the fast-paced music still playing in his head, fighting off the panic that rose within his chest. _-What is wrong with me?- _he thought. He looked up at himself in the mirror, then jumped back, a small scream escaping his lips. Orochimaru was staring back at him, as if the snake was his own reflection. _-No...not again!- _He shook his head, eyes shut, then looked back at the mirror. His reflection was back to normal.

Sasuke grabbed at his curse mark, which he knew had come back, even though it was not hurting. He slowly drew his fingernails across it, wishing that the mark would be scraped off along with the top layer of skin. He knew it wouldn't, though. It wasn't that easy. Things were never that easy.

He squeezed his eyes shut, putting his hands on his ears. _-Be quiet,-_ he thought to the beat within his head and to the screaming vocalist. The music, as if in direct opposition to him, became louder and a bit closer to omnipresent. Sasuke clutched at his ears as if the sound were coming from outside his head and not inside it. Then, coming to his senses, he put his fingers into the special sign. "Release!" he said aloud. The music stopped, though he knew with the next song it would come right back, so he had a limited amount of time to gather his thoughts.

The door creaked on its hinges, and Sasuke turned. Naruto leaned against the door frame, holding open the door itself with his foot. "So," he said, bringing his foot down and accidentally timing his footsteps so he'd arrive next to Sasuke when it shut. He transferred his leaning to the wall next to the sink as Sasuke looked back towards his reflection, leaning over the porcelain container once more. "So."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, annoyed. "So what?"

Naruto grinned, looking right back. "So how was your trip back?"

Sasuke smiled, but only a little. "Rather uneventful. Can't remember a thing about it. Yours?"

"Same," said Naruto.

Sasuke smiled some more. "I suppose that's how you convinced Tsunade to let you throw the party? You told her?"

"Yep," said Naruto. "And we should probably tell her you've come back, too. After the party is over, of course."

"Of course," chuckled Sasuke, shaking his head. "You haven't changed at all, have you, Naruto?"

"A little," Naruto responded. "You'll see."

Sasuke looked at him for a few seconds. Then, methodically, he turned back to the mirror, analyzing his features. Naruto, sensing his friend's inner struggle, was silent for once in his life. "I don't want to turn into him again," Sasuke finally spoke up.

"I was telling the truth earlier, Sasuke," said Naruto. "We care about you..." And he smiled. "Even if some of us don't remember that we do."

Sasuke chuckled, without any hint of laughter in it. "Huh. If some people remembered, they wouldn't care," he said, accurately enough. "Or worse, they'd hate me." he licked his lips, breath beginning to come heavy again. "I wouldn't blame them one bit."

Naruto was silent for a bit. "Neither would I," said Naruto, placing a friendly hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "But I know I still care about you." He smiled a little bit. "And you know Sakura does, too."

Sasuke knew what Naruto was getting at. "Not like that. She didn't care like that anymore." He sighed. "She only does now because she doesn't remember." He stood up before Naruto could respond. "Even if it hurts both of us, she has to move on. So I'm going to make her."

"Well, that's mean," said Naruto.

"So is trying to kill her," said Sasuke bluntly. Naruto sighed. He thought for a few minutes. "Are we done talking?" asked Sasuke as the music came back on in his head.

"No, we're not done," said Naruto. Then, slower, as if something in his mind was cranking a gear that hadn't been cranked before. "You're...not done. It's not the end. You have..." He snapped his fingers a couple times. "You just have to do better this time, that's all. This is a good thing you've gotten." He smiled. "A second chance. Maybe that's all anyone needs?"

Sasuke scoffed. "I doubt it," and he turned.

Naruto let out a small noise of surprise. He grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder. "Oh no?" he brought Sasuke back to the mirror without turning him around. "Well, look at this, and then I'll stop bugging you."

"...fine," agreed Sasuke. "What is it?" Naruto pulled down Sasuke's shirt slightly at his back left shoulder. Sasuke looked back and gasped.

"That's right," said Naruto. "A second chance." The seal around the curse mark had changed. A second circle was around and touching the three points at the end of the triangle-like designs around the first circle. The same design also appeared again, very much smaller, at the center of the mark itself. "I mean, hey, I didn't pass the academy first time around, right?"

Sasuke thought about what Naruto said and showed him. "...I still don't know."

"And that's just fine," said Naruto in response, purposefully shoving Sasuke off to the side as he pulled his shirt back up. "Just don't be stupid."

"Coming from you, that's a grim warning indeed," responded Sasuke, pushing back.

"Oh, one more thing," said Naruto, after laughing.

"And here I thought you were actually going to stop bugging me," Sasuke responded.

"I am!" said Naruto, a bit whiny. "I just wanted to let you know you're acting kind of funny."

"I'm trying to be more human," said Sasuke.

"That doesn't mean you need to change who you are," said Naruto.

Sasuke sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, I really don't have much of a personality besides being evil," he said, truthfully again.

Naruto thought. "Well, then be evil, but be good."

"...Naruto. What are you on?"

"What I'm saying is," clarified Naruto, "You seem good at snarking at things."

"...go on," said Sasuke, beginning to get what Naruto meant.

"Sarcasm, bitterness, cynicism, brooding, mean-spirited..." listed off Naruto. "Yeah, that all sounds like you. Plenty bad, but not evil."

Sasuke thought a bit more. Then, he smiled. "Sounds good to me," he said.

"And horrible to everyone else," said Naruto, smiling back. "Come on. Let's get back to your party, future-boy."

Naruto left first, then Sasuke, who was met with uproarious applause and cheering by girls who wanted to dance more.

**0-0-0-0**

The night was finally winding down, close to midnight. Even Neji had danced a little, under the pretense of "moving my body without stop in order to build stamina." Tenten had suggested it. Lee had joined him, fake-flirting and bumping and attempting to jokingly grind. Neji had left the dance floor quite rapidly after that. In fact, that was what caused the party to start winding down; nothing could top that.

It was also probably because everyone was satisfied with their night. There was enough food to satisfy Chōji, enough music and dancing to satisfy Ino, and enough distance between boys and girls at all times to satisfy Kakashi's watchful eye. So, everyone left satisfied.

...then again, perhaps not everyone was satisfied. For instance, though Ino was satisfied with the party itself, she did not seem happy at all as she stood to the side, last song of the night playing, another slow dance. Sakura noticed her standing in that way. "Ino?" she asked, stepping through the crowd of people (with a moderate amount of trouble) to her friend. "Is something the matter?"

Ino looked through her for a few seconds. "Uh," she said, blinking rapidly. "Y-yeah. No. I'm good," said Ino, perfectly naturally. Unfortunately her weird behavior just before saying this gave her away.

"Ino," said Sakura sternly, "Tell me the truth."

Ino turned away for a second. Then, she gave off a "Heh." She looked back, with sad eyes and a smiling mouth. "I guess...I'm just sad I lost to you, Sakura," she whispered, tears beginning to form.

"Oh," said Sakura, looking downcast. "Well, don't be too upset. You've still got way more than a chance, you know!" She raised her arm, pointing at Ino and placing the other one on her hip. "The battle isn't over yet! But trust me, when it does end, Sasuke will be mine!"

Ino laughed as the tears began falling. Such a strange combination of happiness and sadness. "Sakura...you're so selfish."

"Wh-what?" asked Sakura, surprised, but not angry. After all, if Ino was angry with her, that meant she wasn't sad. Probably, anyway.

"And yet," she continued, "When you see someone hurting, you'll do anything to stop the hurt." She smiled. "Even hurt yourself."

Sakura's mouth hung open. She snapped out of it quickly, smiling. "Well, I don't know about that," she said.

Ino laughed again. "You're such a paradox...billboard-brow," she said without much enthusiasm. "So weird." And she stopped laughing now, lookingsorrowful.

"Ino..." Sakura began.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Ino said, tears stopping as if by command. "You're just lucky you got a guy to fall for you at all." She looked as haughty as possible. "With my looks, I could get any guy I want!"

Sakura giggled. "I don't doubt it," she said. "Ino, you're such a paradox!"

Ino sighed. "Yeah," she said. She looked Sakura in the eyes. "Thanks for understanding."

They hugged, no longer rivals. Nothing left to be rivals over.

"Okay, everybody!" Naruto suddenly shouted, almost instantly after the last song ended. Everyone's attention switched over to him. "We've got a heck of a finale lined up for you guys! But first..." and here he indicated Tenten. "Let's give it up for our DJ!" Everyone cheered and applauded as Tenten bowed, beaming like a lightbulb. Which meant, proportionately, brighter than a lightbulb. Speaking of lightbulbs, Naruto held up a plug and an adapter, both attached to cords. "Alright, you ready?" he shouted rhetorically. He got an answer anyway, a very loud affirmative. He plugged the cord into the adapter.

Well, he tried, but they wouldn't fit together. "As per usual, Naruto messes things up," mumbled Sasuke. Chōji, very near him, laughed quietly.

"Huh?" Naruto asked. He tried again. "Well, that's weird..." he mumbled. He looked at the plug and its mate quizzically. Then he looked quizzical some more, this time in the direction of the people near him, turning his head this way and that. "Ah, Hinata!" he said, now smiling. "Could you help me?"

"Um...I don't k-know if I'm r-really the most qualified..." Hinata mumbled.

Naruto frowned. _-You know, I don't think she's danced very much at all tonight,-_ he thought to himself. _-Always too shy to get in a crowd of people.- _"Huh? Wuzzat?" he asked, cupping his hand to his ear. Technically, he could hear her just fine, but he also really wanted her to speak up. She remained silent, blushing and moving back into the group of people a little, for protection. _-Looks like she'd prefer to face the crowd than face her crush,-_ mentally sighed Naruto. "Just get up here!" he said, actually not raising his voice very much at all.

Apparently, it was enough. "R-right!" said Hinata, blushing some more. She ran up to Naruto, who held out the two objects to her. She looked them over a little bit. "N-naruto...you're holding this wire upside d-down..."

"Huh?" Naruto asked. "You can do that?"

Hinata nodded, her index fingers rubbing against one another as she spoke. "Y-yes...see?" she broke from the finger-rubbing to point out the proof of the problem. "One of the prongs is b-bigger than the other."

"Ohh..." said Naruto, 'understanding'. "Gosh, Hinata, you're so smart," he said, as several people in the audience laughed at his stupidity. He continued as Hinata blushed, both nervous being in front of a crowd and delighted Naruto had complimented her. "Alright then! For real this time! Are you ready for the finale?" And, to the cheering of the audience, he plugged the two wires together, for real this time.

Behind him, several lights lit up in seemingly random order. Due to the sudden increase in brightness, no one could tell what picture or message the dots formed until a few seconds after the light show was over. Once they could see, almost everyone gasped.

**Will You Please**

**Go out with Me**

**Sakura?  
**

"N-Naruto!" Sakura said, both blushing and angry.

"Looks like I might really have a chance after all," mumbled Ino, trying to make light of the situation and knowing she was failing as she did so.

"That idiot," said Neji. "This is just the highlight of a long night of stupidity."

"Poor Naruto," sighed Tenten. "Can't get it through his thick skull she isn't into him."

"...is he joking?" Sasuke asked, sincerely hoping he was.

"I don't think so," replied Chōji. "This can't end well."

"Curiouser and curiouser," said Kakashi, who had put down his book considering the amount of drama on the dance floor for him to appreciate.

"And the party comes to a grinding halt," said Kiba. Akamaru barked his agreement.

"I understand your sentiments, Naruto," said Lee, a bit loudly. "But think: is this really for the best?"

"Advice after the mistake," quoted Shino, "Is like medicine at the dead man's funeral."

Shikamaru was silent. Watching. Waiting. Calculating. As per usual when the chips were down.

Hinata looked at Naruto. "I...it's very nice, Naruto," she said, trying to smile. Anyone should be able to tell that she was hurt, though. Anyone except Naruto, king of obliviousness.

The King of Obliviousness turned to her, looking angry. "GAH!" he said, throwing his arms up in the air. "This is all wrong!" He turned to the audience now, looking back and forth across them. "Who put up these lights?" he shouted. Nobody took credit or blame. Naruto sighed deeply, facepalming. "They put up the wrong message, whoever it was..." He grumbled. Then, he shouted: "Sorry, Sakura! Wrong girl! Hope you can forgive me!"

"Oh, no need to be sorry!" shouted Sakura right back. Then she mumbled, trying to smile. "I'll live through the pain somehow..." she said sarcastically. Ino giggled.

Hinata, up on stage, blinked. "The wrong girl?" she asked.

Naruto turned back to her. "Yeah," he said. "It was supposed to be for someone way prettier than Sakura is..."

"HEY!" came Sakura's voice from the audience, the rest of which laughed. "YOU WANNA COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE?"

Naruto ignored her, while Hinata wrestled momentarily with her curiosity. "W-well, then..." she asked nervously. "W-who is this o-other girl?"

"Let's see..." mumbled Naruto, looking around the room, hand over eyes. "Well," and he turned back to Hinata, scratching his chin with his hand. Suddenly, with a smile the girls...well, girl...couldn't help but love, he grabbed Hinata's own chin gently and leaned over to her.

A 'peck' can be a unit of measurement or a kiss. This particular peck that Naruto gave to Hinata was a kiss, and by long and by far, it meant a ton.

"Naruto?" gasped Hinata as he turned a bright red.

"I think you can figure it out," whispered Naruto as the audience began cheering, applauding, gasping, murmuring, etc., one section of it at a time.

Hinata felt like she was on fire, and she looked it too. Bright, bright, bright, bright, bright, bright red. Really bright red. She stood rigid, mouth open wide in ecstatic surprise. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were dilated, and she could almost swear that her heart was teleporting around her chest it was beating so strong. "N-Naruto..." she finally gasped out for the second time as the cheering died down, everyone now anxious for the next part of the question: the answer.

"Well, how about that," said Tenten to Neji in the few seconds in which they waited for Hinata's response. "Your little cousin got herself a boyfriend."

"...she is too young," said Neji. "I believe Lord Hiashi would agree."

Tenten frowned. "You really are a buzzkill, you know that?"

During the same few seconds, others talked as well. Among them: "Well, who saw that coming?" asked Sakura. She giggled. "Naruto...you always know exactly what to say when it's really important. I think I can forgive you for saying Hinata is prettier than me."

Ino sighed, though it was silent in nature. _-Super,-_ she thought, bitter as unripe grapes topped with spinach and chocolate baking powder. _-Everyone's in love tonight except for me.-_ Ino had a tendency to exaggerate when she was upset.

_-Well, well, well- _thought Kakashi. _-Our little Naruto is growing up.-_ And he smiled.

Naruto spoke up again. "I kind of need an answer here, Hinata," he said gently.

"YES!" the girl instantly shouted with the largest smile in the world on her face, leaping towards him and wrapping both her arms around his neck, lifting up her legs into a mid-air kneeling position, and burying her face in his chest. He was sent off balance, to many cheers and catcalls.

"Huh," said Naruto's shadow clone, walking out from behind the lights with a pillow, which he was looking at. "Here I was, thinking she'd faint." He disappeared from existence as the audience laughed, Hinata far too blissed out to notice any of it. The real Naruto continued his sentence. "Silly me," he said, grinning as he hugged the normally-shy (though this situation was not normal) Hyuuga back.

Sasuke chose this time to speak up. "Yeah," he shouted, "Because romances that start out as stalking work out so well." Everyone laughed more than they had all night (though not all day) as Hinata suddenly stopped hugging Naruto, bliss broken at the sudden realization she was in public. After hitting the ground, she slowly shuffled a few feet away from the ramen-lover in embarrassment. Naruto, blushing as well, scratched his cheek, looking sheepish, as the crowd applauded the couple to show that, even if they thought what he said was funny, they didn't agree with Sasuke's sarcasm. Heck, Sasuke didn't even agree with Sasuke's sarcasm. The only one not clapping, not because he disapproved but because he was too busy exercising his mind to do any type of exercise otherwise, even something as small as clapping, was Shikamaru.

_-It doesn't make sense.- _the shadow-nin thought. _-Naruto's suddenly stopped being in head-over-heels puppy-dog love with Sakura, and he's being seriously romantic with Hinata?- _A narrowing of the eyes. _-And Sasuke? Morbid, loner, ultimate-party-killer Sasuke gets a party thrown for him, by Naruto, who wouldn't do that for Sasuke, or say those kinds of things to him. And not only doesn't Sasuke discourage it, he happily participates!-_ He shook his head. _-And pulling a prank, and smiling and laughing, and dancing with his obsessed fangirls, too. No way. Not Sasuke. Not Naruto, either. People don't change. Not like that. Not overnight.-_

Shikamaru creased his brow, moving his hands to their usual position as people began mingling with each other for one last bit of social interaction before leaving. Hinata, blushing, looked to be standing with Naruto again, and they were discussing something. She was blushing, it looked like. They were probably deciding on where and when to go for their first date. Shikamaru creased his brow further. _-Think...think...- _He grunted, giving up. _-No good. This late at night, I don't get ideas. All I'm getting is a headache.- _He sighed, letting the tension ease from his body. _-Best to do my usual thing and sleep on it,- _Shikamaru thought to himself. _-I'm sure it'll all come to me in the morning.-_

**0-0-0-0**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!"

A faraway, unknown location. A Sannin was screaming in pain.

"GAAAAH!" he shouted again. "Where are those accursed Sound Four with my new body?" he screamed to the ceiling, as if any deity would bother giving a snake like him an answer.

"We may actually have news on that front, my lord," said Kabuto, entering the even-darker-than-the-rest-of-the-base chamber. "Your contact scroll is glowing."

Orochimaru growled. "Well, then, open it!" he commanded.

"Right away, Lord Orochimaru," said Kabuto, doing so. He lay the scroll upon the floor in front of Orochimaru's throne.

An image, life-sized, of Sakon and Ukon (though the latter was asleep) slowly crackled, with much static, into being from the scroll. "Lord Orochimaru," he said, bowing slightly. However, he stayed bowed, likely because he didn't want to look his master in the eye. "Sasuke Uchiha is..." he gulped. "It does not appear he will be coming back willingly, my lord."

"WHAT?" screamed Orochimaru, not out of anger but astonishment. Sakon flinched anyway. "How can this be?"

"We checked on where Sasuke was," said Sakon, "But when we got there, he and several other Genin around his age were gathered in a warehouse, dancing, with food and, er, a disco ball." He cringed. "One would assume they used genjutsu to make music as well...in short, it would appear they were having a party." He cringed further. "We believe Sasuke was participating willingly..." And here he snapped up, looking at Orochimaru once again. "He seemed like a totally different person than the one you described,Lord Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru's black hair covered his white face, for he was looking downwards. Hard to see the expression on that face. Kabuto stepped forward. "Understood. Return back to base as quickly as possible. Your mission has been abor-"

"No," whispered Orochimaru, a sharp whisper that cut through Kabuto's words. The two others (or one other, depending on how you look at it) in the room looked at the one they served, fearful of what he might say next and curious at the same time. "You will go back and retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Immediately."

"But my lord," began Sakon. He paused, then chose his next words very carefully. "We were specifically commanded by you not to take him by force. You said that to take over his body-"

"I KNOW!" shouted Orochimaru. "What I don't know is WHY," he growled out his next words. "I want to know _why _Sasuke has not come to me of his own free will!" His features somehow became even more demonic than usual as he continued. "What has changed sine he and I last saw each other? What has changed so drastically that he is like a 'totally different person'?" He grinned an evil grin. "I _will _find out, and then...when his usefulness in my quest for knowledge is over..." He took a deep breath in, and one out. In, and out. Obviously, he was in a lot of pain and struggling to control himself. The grin never left his face, though, a mask worn to make sure those around him knew he was insurmountable, even by this excruciation. "I'm going to kill him."

Sakon waited for a second to make sure his master had nothing left to say. "As you command, Lord Orochimaru, so we shall do." And with this, he disappeared.

Orochimaru breathed in and out a few more times. Kabuto slowly leaned over and rolled up the scroll again, then placed it in his kunai holster. "I'll go prepare your new body, Lord Orochimaru." Orochimaru grunted his reluctant approval. Kabuto left the scene.

Once Kabuto was surely gone, the most evil ninja most people had ever heard of sighed deeply, slumping in his chair. "I hate losing..." he sulked.

* * *

Whether it's the biggest laugh of the day or the biggest laugh of the night, Sasuke is the one that causes it. Who would have thunk?

And who would have thunk Hinata wouldn't have fainted if Naruto confessed his love to her? Well, the filler arcs, for one thing. Check out the 'Paper Bomb Trap' arc, or whatever its official name is. Anime fans will know what I'm talking about.

Just one more thing (that I can think of) before you can leave.

**OMAKE #2**

This deleted scene got left out by accident, and I couldn't figure out a way to put it back in and still have the narrative flow like I wanted it to. Then I realized: "Hey! Make it an omake!" So, here it is, for your enjoyment: Omake #2!

**0-0-0-0**

"Ah!" said Naruto, tossing his empty plate away. "That was great!" He patted his full stomach. "Good thing I got to the spicy nachos before Chōji did!" He giggled to himself as the next song came on. Slow, and with specifically romantic lyrics that were occasionally slightly risqué. A three-for-one deal!

"Hey, Naruto!" said a girl's voice.

"Huh?" he said in surprise, as he recognized the voice. "Oh, hey, Sakura! What's up?"

She smiled, holding out her hand. "I was just wondering if you wanted to dance?"

Naruto blinked at her outstretched hand. _-She's not really interested...just trying to do me a favor.- _He smiled. _-Probably for the best.-_ "Thanks but no thanks, Sakura."

Sakura blinked. "What do you mean? Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh yeah," said Naruto. "It's just, well..." he blushed slightly. "There's this other girl, you see..." he giggled. "And, well, you know..."

Sakura blinked, then smiled, bringing her hand back down. "Oh, that's alright," she said.

"Heh. Glad you understa-"

"Except you're not the real Naruto!" Sakura suddenly shouted, whipping a kunai out of her holster and sticking it up against Naruto's throat.

"Sakura?" he gasped as the pink-haired girl got behind him, to better pin him forward against the sharp edge of her weapon.

"The real Naruto is way gone for me," Sakura said, "And besides that, he's nowhere near subtle. If there was another girl in his life, I'd know about it long before he did."

"Wait! Sakura!" Naruto squealed. "You've got it all wrong!"

**0-0-0-0**

My, Naruto does seem to get himself in a lot of sticky romantic situations in this chapter, doesn't he? Should we call him lucky, or unlucky? What do you think?

Heh. Either way, thanks for reading. May God bless you in everything you do!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, a quick question...why are peppermints the only kinds of hard candies restaurants seem to give out? Or at least the restaurants I go to seem to. If some are giving out chocolate, I feel gypped.

Erm, anyway, hello! AProcrastinatingWriter, Chapter Four, yadda yadda! In this chapter, romantic drama happens, or some such nonsense. Perhaps a little too dramatic? I dunno, honestly. But, hey, thanks for reading anyway! Sorry if things do get a bit on the 'melo' side of drama.

...I feel like there's something more I should be saying, but I can't think of a thing to say. Weird. Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**WELL, YOU SEE, THERE'S THIS GIRL**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO IRRITATE YOUR SUPERIORS AND STILL AVOID GETTING IN TROUBLE

* * *

**

**Brrrriiiiiiiinnnnggg...**

Shikamaru winced, turned away from the offending object, and wrapped his pillow around his head. _-Troublesome little...-_ he grunted in the safety of his head. _-Thought I got rid of that thing!-_

Oddly enough, his ignoring the alarm clock did not cause it to stop its incessant noise. There goes the theory that it had self-esteem issues. "Alright, alright," Shikamaru mumbled, finally reaching over and slapping the top of the clock hard enough to cause permanent damage. Shikamaru groaned, letting his arm droop off the side of the bed. _-Why did I set my alarm to go off at six o'clock? After that party last night...- _He suddenly blinked, confused. _-Wait. Party? That doesn't seem right...- _He thought for a few moments. _-No...there was definitely a party. With a disco ball...and Tenten was DJ...and Naruto and Sasuke almost...-_ his face suddenly scrunched up in confusion. _-Was the punch spiked? I'm not sure I'm remembering things right...-_

He hummed slightly as he rolled over on his back. _-Yeah...there wasn't a party. It was something else. My parents...screaming...a big battle...- _And suddenly, mental pictures formed in his head. Bloody and disturbing ones. Shikamaru bolted upright, eyes wide. _-That's right! The attack! Mom and dad were...-_ his head slowly lowered. "No way..." he mumbled. He began shaking his head, suddenly sad and angry. "No, no...it's got to be a dream!"

Then, he stopped to think. _-Actually...yeah. It really does have to be a dream.- _He slowly looked up again. _-Otherwise...I wouldn't be waking up in a building in the Leaf Village right now...in fact, I probably wouldn't be waking up at all.- _He craned his neck towards his window. _-This is the Leaf Village, right?-_

Indeed it was. Bright day with a blue sky that was perfect for cloud-watching. Every single familiar building, standing up straight and proud as ever. All the little people scampering about their daily lives below and within them. Shikamaru really had no idea what they were doing up so early...actually, he didn't know what he himself was doing up so early. Shikamaru sighed with relief. _-That's good,- _he thought. _-So...everyone's still alive. It _was_ all just a dream.- _He looked confused. _-So was the party a dream too? Or did that really happen?- _He shook his head. _-Yeah, it's got to be...because I remember __going through a bunch of other stuff instead of the party...and then after that...-_

With clarity so sudden it sent Shikamaru almost literally reeling, everything came together in a split second. The party was the most recent event, while trailing its heels was his battle with Madara Uchiha. Then, moving backwards...well, things went on from there.

_-That's right,- _thought Shikamaru. He looked back down at his hands, which seemed noticeably tinier than usual. _-It's all beginning to become clear...but at the same time, none of it makes sense in the slightest.- _He closed his eyes. _-To have experienced these events in the order I'm remembering them, several of them would require displacing time in some way...no jutsu I know of has that much power behind it.- _His eyes snapped open, now ready for information-gathering. _-So at least one of my memories is really a false one...a dream. Question is, which one's the one that isn't really there?- _

The young strategist slowly looked around, filing every bit of evidence in his brain. _-My room's the same as it was when I was a Genin...- _he knocked the wall behind him. _-Right down to the secret compartment.- _he smiled. Then, he looked out the window, serious again. _-Not to mention the fact that the Village Hidden in the Leaves is quite obviously still there, as I've already established. So the battle with Madara was really a dream...but is that all that is? Or is there more?- _

He slowly stood from his bed, walking over to his closet. He opened it up, and vaguely noted his Chunin-vest was part of the singular outfit he always had lined up for the day's wearing. He looked in the mirror. Baggy eyes, scrawny muscles, undershirt and boxers...everything looked the same as usual. Except...everything looked _smaller_. Shikamaru sighed. "So...everything _but _the party was the dream," he said aloud. "What an unbelievable drag..."

He considered things silently again. _-Ten years,-_ he thought, trying to wrap his head around the magnitude of time he'd gained and then lost. _-I lived out ten years of my life while everyone else's time stood still, and then I was snapped back to reality without any warning.- _He chuckled, a bitter laugh indeed. _-Like some kind of reverse Rip Van Winkle.-_

It was a sad and happy and even a partially accurate conclusion that the sloth-ninja had come to. He thought over everything that apparently really hadn't happened over his lifetime. Naruto might or might not still have the Kyuubi inside of him somewhere...Sasuke hadn't left...Asuma wasn't dead, and neither were his parents. A lot of people weren't dead. The Akatsuki might not even really exist. Really, besides having to live through the boring parts (which were most of the parts) of the last ten years all over again, the only bad thing Shikamaru could think of about this was the fact that...

_-Temari isn't in love with me,- _his eyes snapped open.

So, that was just a dream, too. He smiled at this, but that was just to keep from crying. _-Of course. Like she would ever really fall for me. In my dreams, yeah.- _Shikamaru chuckled, but it was bitter and grieving. Not joyful. _-I mean, what's there to fall for? Like I'm really that big hero I dreamed myself to be...like I'm that good a leader.-_ He was coming closer and closer to crying every second. _-Like I'm really something special.- _ He couldn't hold the emotion in his head anymore as he spoke aloud. "Like Temari would ever agree to marry a guy like me..." he choked out as the tears began welling in his eyes.

"_You're such a crybaby!" _came a voice from nowhere but Shikamaru's own memories. With these words, those same eyes, the ones that had been ready to pour out tears, widened just a second later, and though the tears fell, no more came to replace them. Shikamaru slowly looked up at the mirror as images passed through his head, and his body reacted to them as his consciousness was pulled into a comforting embrace.

His ears perked up as the sound of Temari's laughter echoed throughout the room. His eyes dilated as her own eyes, her form and the fluidity of her movements passed in front of him. His lips tingled at the sweet taste and warmth of her lips lightly brushing across his. His cheeks reddened at her beauty and the tone of her voice, as she came back for more kisses, each one deeper and more passionate than the last, representative of all the physical contact they'd had over the years. He smiled at thoughts of cloud-watching, of dinner-dates, of performing silly little plays for ninja trainees.

_-Temari,-_ the Chunin thought, or rather remembered, smile ever-widening. His eyebrows lifted up slightly as the last of his tears fell. He looked at his reflection, straight in the eye, the biggest grin he had ever seen in the last place he'd ever expected to see it: his own face. "Yeah...that was _real_," he said to himself. "Even if everything else was a dream...all of that was definitely real." This was a highly illogical assumption for Shikamaru to make. He didn't care, because he knew it was the truth.

His smile decreased to a normal one now as he thought over possibilities. _-Let's see...- _he thought, moving his hands to his thinking position. It was a lot easier to think than at last night's party. _-If it wasn't a dream, though, why am I twelve years old again? Why is the village still standing? Why are things like they are?- _His mind raced forward, thinking over things he needed to think about, and things he'd promised himself he'd think about again. -_And what was with that big celebration for Sasuke?-_

Smile got a little bigger, actually turning into a smirk now, as it usually did when he figured out a strategy. But, since there was no one there to smirk at, it seemed as if he was smug about outsmarting reality. Which he was. -_Of course. I've been making assumptions. I can't exactly toss out 'traveling through time' until I can definitely disprove it as a possibility, right?- _He nodded, and began to think aloud, as if someone could hear. "Right. And if we assume that I went back in time, we can assume that others might have gone back in time too...which would explain Sasuke and Naruto's strange behavior as of late perfectly."

The smile stopped now as he remembered the circumstances surrounding the final blow to Madara. "Only question is," he mumbled to himself. "What happened to Neji? And Gaara? Were they killed in that blast?" He shook his head, hands moving back to normal position. "No. That wouldn't make sense. Unless the timestream only has a survival rate of three in five, or something. And that itself doesn't make sense." He thought for a few moments. "Well, I came back later than the other two...does that mean there's still a chance..."

"SHIKAMARU!" came a rather angry voice from downstairs. "WILL YOU GET DOWN HERE ALREADY? YOUR BREAKFAST IS GETTING COLD!"

The young man smiled again. "Well," he said, walking into his closet, because 'thinking time' was obviously over, "Here we go again..."

**0-0-0-0**

"There you are!" shouted Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino for those of you who don't know, as he came downstairs, now fully dressed. "Glad to see you out of bed, lazy-bones! That's what you get for staying out until after midnight when you know you have training in the mornings!" And she threw her one of her best patented 'mom-glares' at the boy.

_-Mom,-_ Shikamaru thought, mouth slightly open. _-And dad,-_ He knew they'd be there, and yet actually seeing them alive and not dead, not to mention ten years younger, really brought things home for him. He teared up slightly, unseen, then slowly began walking towards his mom.

"Hey. Are you listening?" She asked as he got closer. She was standing between him and the breakfast table, so she assumed that was where he was going. "I'm warning you, mister, if you take another-"

"I'm sorry," said Shikamaru in a sincere tone neither of his parents had heard before.

"Yeah, you'd better be...what?" His mom suddenly realized exactly what he'd just said. Shikamaru's dad, Shikaku, looked up from his breakfast, his son's quiet apology being more startling to him than his wife's loud, angry shouting.

Shikamaru continued. "I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to upset you," he said, just as sincerely as before. "You're a really great mom."

"Okay, what's going on?" asked his mom, eyebrow raised in annoyance, suspicion, and confusion. She was interrupted by Shikamaru suddenly grabbing her in a tight hug. Now she was just worried. "Shikamaru!" she started, because this was highly out of character for him. "What are you-"

"I love you," the boy responded in a slightly choked voice. Why he was crying, they could not have possibly understood: his parents were dead, and now they were alive again. He clutched at his mom's shoulders, as if letting her go would somehow make her disappear again. "I love you," he repeated.

The food in Shikaku's mouth fell back down to the plate it had come from as he lost control of how much it could open. Yoshino blinked a few times, utterly surprised. After a few moments, her face softened into a gentle smile as she slowly returned her son's hug. "I love you too, Shikamaru," she said, voice matching her son's in sincerity. "I always have." She slowly pulled away from him, bending over slightly to look him in the eye. "I always will."

Shikamaru smiled as Yoshino pulled him back into her arms, a much gentler hug this time. "Uh..." Shikaku said. Then, tossing out his suspicions and misgivings for a second, he smiled as well. "Heh," he chuckled, and then stood up and walked over to his wife and son. "Same here," he said, causing the other two to pull away and look at him. He gently kissed his wife as he lay his arm around her shoulders, placing his other hand on Shikamaru's left shoulder. "After all..." he said, looking first into his wife's eyes, then into his son's, "We are a family."

**0-0-0-0**

For the first time since he'd become a ninja, Shikamaru was allowed to skip his morning training.

The mood in the house lifted after that, especially once father and son were able to convince Yoshino to sit down and eat breakfast with them instead of bustling around like a 'good little housewife'. None of them had realized it, but it had been an incredibly long time since they'd all gathered together at the family table to eat a meal. Now, as they talked, and laughed, and ate, they were acutely aware of exactly how long it had been: too long. Far too long since they'd just spoken to each other without the yelling and stress.

"HA HA HA HA!" laughed Shikamaru, covering his mouth to keep the egg-like food in it from running out of it.

"It's not that funny," murmured Yoshino, who was both embarrassed and happy, as evidenced by the fact she was both blushing and smiling.

"Sorry, but it really is," said Shikaku. "After all, how many couples can say they first met after a peeking attempt?"

Shikamaru managed to swallow his tofu whey. "Actually, it really isn't that funny," he clarified, reaching for his drink. "I'm just laughing 'cause I'm so disturbed." That being said, he was still smiling too.

"Bet you never knew your mom had such a wild side, did ya?" asked Shikaku. Yoshino reached over and whacked him lightly on the head. He reeled off to the side a bit, now laughing too.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Ah, people," he murmured, half comedy and half tragedy. He downed a great gulp of his juice after lifting it in mock-toast.

His mom shook her head too. She suddenly seemed to stop, and think for a second. "Shikamaru?" she finally asked. She was saying his name as a question a lot recently.

"Yeah?" responded the boy. Not a young man; at that moment he was an older boy, almost a teen, despite the years he'd lived through.

"You seemed...upset when you came downstairs," she said cautiously. She would have brought it up sooner, but she felt that waiting a bit before asking would probably be for the best. "Is something wrong?"

Shikamaru's turn to think had come up. "Well," he finally said, the young man within him coming through to the surface again, "I guess you could say that it just hit me, is all."

"What just hit you?" asked Shikaku, leaning forward slightly. He was concerned just as much as his wife was.

"The fact that you guys aren't going to be around forever," Shikamaru said, looking into his drink. "Any time we talk could be my last chance to say something to you." He looked back up. "Especially since we're all shinobi." He smiled. "I just wanted to set things right while I still could."

Shikaku and Yoshino slowly looked at each other, unsure of what to say. After all, to deny Shikamaru's words would be, well, lying. Finally Shikaku turned back to his son. "I can't say I disagree," he said, "But, son, you shouldn't let those kinds of thoughts linger. They aren't good for you if you let them take over your life."

Shikamaru smiled, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "I'm afraid I have to disagree," he said, standing up and placing the napkin down. "It all depends on whether you use your thoughts positively or negatively, is all." He bowed his head slightly. "Thanks for the great meal, mom. This and all the other times. Dad, thanks for all the advice you've given me over the years, and the advice you're sure to give me in the future, 'cause I know I need it." He turned and began walking for the door. "See ya later."

"Where are you going?" asked Yoshino.

Shikamaru turned, smiling and blushing slightly. "Well, if I put things off too much longer, I may not get to do them at all." His blush increased, as did his smile. "And, well, you see..." he put his hand behind his neck, scratching slightly. "There's this girl..." And then, before either of his startled parents could ask for more information, Shikamaru placed his hands into the Rat, Boar, Rat signs. "Shadow Movement Jutsu!" he said. Suddenly, the shadow the kitchen light cast into the hallway he was standing in seemed to swallow him up, and he disappeared without a trace. As per usual when teenagers get asked questions about friends of the opposite sex.

Yoshino stood up slightly, as both she and her husband gaped. Then, as she sat down again, they both smiled. "A jutsu of his own creation and a girl," Shikaku said, beaming.

"Our little Shikamaru is growing up," said Yoshino, proud and a little sad.

A few moments of silence passed, before both looked down at their hands simultaneously. They were astonished, for apparently they had grasped each other's hands on the table subconsciously. Something like that hadn't happened since they were newlyweds. Same with what was happening with their hearts, beating like they were right now. Shikaku looked up first, smiling a bit. "It just occurred to me," he said, causing his wife to look up too, "It's been an awfully long while since we've...well...you know..."

Yoshino blushed. "R-right now?" she asked breathily, looking around nervously, but smiling too.

Shikakau's smile became a grin, a flirty one, a single eyebrow raised. "Yeah, sure, why not? Shikamaru probably won't be back for a while."

"I-I don't know," Yoshino murmured softly, sending furtive glances to her husband and, erm, the rest of his body.

"Oh, come on...it'll be fun..." And as he said these words, slowly and lowly, he leaned in for her neck, she obligingly tilting her head slightly upwards as her blush increased...

**0-0-0-0**

And stepping away from that lemon, we rejoin Shikamaru, whose four-second trip across one-and-a-half minutes of ground had just ended as he stepped out of the shadow of a tree. "Well, that was close," he mumbled to himself as he began walking. "Still, I'll have to explain things eventually, I guess." And though he was speaking of the fact Temari was three years older than him and from the Sand Village, he realized what he was saying could also apply to the fact he was from the future. _-Oh well,- _he thought, smiling as he looked up at the clouds drifting overhead. _-Guess I'll just have to cross those bridges when I come to them.- _With this thought, he began walking forward, head tilted slightly upwards so he could keep up his cloud-watching duties and still watch where he was going peripherally.

Cloud-watching. Shikamaru was uncertain, right up to the last second of his last battle, of whether he would ever see the sun again, let alone the white clouds that came along with it. But here he was, just walking and staring. And there the clouds were. Beautiful.

"Hey, Shikamaru! What are you doing?" came a voice from his left, and a little bit downhill.

Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat. Once again, he knew this was coming, but actually hearing the voice made it so much more real. He looked to where the voice came from. _-Asuma,-_ he thought, trying to keep a calm look on his face. He looked to his sensei's left. _-And Chōji, too...alive.- _Ino was there, too, but Shikamaru was more concerned about the people that, last he had seen them, had been dead.

"We've got training today, remember?" shouted up Chōji. And he was right: though Shikamaru had personal lessons with his family, mainly his dad, each morning, he also had his team's daily workout to deal with. Ironic that the laziest person in the village would receive the most training.

Shikamaru swallowed, though he was far enough away that no one noticed. "Yeah...right," he said, forgetting all about the clouds and walking downhill. "Sorry. Lost track of time, I guess..." He had no idea why he wasn't crying now, but he was thankful for it. He really just wanted things to be back to normal with his team.

"Ugh! This always happens with you, Shikamaru!" Ino said as he approached their training area. "Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting?"

Everyone looked at her strangely. Shikamaru glanced back up at the sky. "Judging from the position of the sun, I'd say about ten minutes?" he asked, raising his eyebrow slightly. Looks like 'back to normal' was a little bit much to ask.

"Yeah, that's about right," confirmed Chōji, eyeing Ino a bit warily. "Not really that big a deal..."

"Are you feeling alright, Ino?" Asuma inquired, concerned for his student's well-being.

Ino blinked, then placed her hand on her forehead, smiling a bit off from her usual smile. "Sorry..." she said, pushing her bangs away from her eyes. "I guess I'm just cranky because I'm so tired...with the party last night and all...you know?"

Shikamaru looked her up and down for a minute or so after his line, the others' talking giving him time for this. Body language would certainly seem to indicate she was tired. Her bright, piercing eyes were gone, replaced by orbs that were dull and lifeless and seemed to wander whenever she wasn't talking to someone. Her usual posture, the confident arch of her back and high-held head that seemed to say "I'm queen of the world and you had better recognize that fact" were also gone, and without them her whole body seemed slumped over slightly.

_-Only problem with all that,- _thought Shikamaru, _-Is that Ino is a trained kunoichi. Sleep deprivation for several days could cause her to act like this, but one night with slightly less sleep than a usual missionless night?-_He shook his head. _-Doesn't seem right.-_

"Well, you'll just have to suck it up and treat today like any other day of training," said Asuma. He smiled, moving his cigarette to the other side of his mouth as he did so. "In fact, since you had the day off yesterday, today is going to be even worse on you three than usual."

Chōji and Ino groaned, but Shikamaru was too lost in thought to respond. This caused everyone to look at him, as they were confused as to why he apparently wasn't paying attention. The answer became 'obvious' by following Shikamaru's gaze, which had naturally drifted downward slightly as he thought.

"Erm...Shikamaru..." said Asuma, sweatdropping and blinking. The Chunin didn't respond.

"Are you staring at my chest?" Ino asked loudly and furiously, though on the inside she was slightly pleased.

_Now_ Shikamaru responded. "What?" he asked, eyes wide. "Oh, uh..." he sighed, blinking slowly as his face returned to its neutral stance. "Sorry," he said., figuring apologizing would take less effort than explaining himself. "Puberty." _-Which I'll have to go through for a second time,- _he thought, flinching mentally. _-Awesome.-_

"Hmm," grumbled Ino. "Well, don't let it happen again." She glared suspiciously at him for several seconds. Then, without warning: "I'm partnering up with Chōji for sparring," and she grabbed the poor chubby ninja by his arm and began leading him away brusquely.

"Hey! Let me go!" said Chōji, who had some things he wanted to discuss with Shikamaru.

Feigned anger aside, Ino was secretly delighted that Shikamaru was apparently taking pleasure in how she looked. _-Hmm...he's kind of lazy, but I'm sure I could whip him into shape,-_ she thought, judging the boy's potential. _-Pretty good looking, too. Still, gotta play hard-to-get for now. If he knows I'm interested...-_ and she continued ranting in her head, trying to cover up her actual feelings by thinking overly-much about the idea that had passed through her head.

Shikamaru blinked. _-Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach?- _he asked himself. No answer came. He hated when that happened.

"Okay, then," said Asuma. _-Awkward.- _"What do you say we get to our sparring, then?"

"Actually," said Shikamaru, turning to the sensei he hadn't seen in years, "I was wondering if you could teach me how to use trench knives? Like you do." This was a good opportunity to spend time with Asuma. Just in case things couldn't be avoided this time around either.

Asuma blinked. "Oh, uh...sure," he said, surprised at the out-of-left-field nature of Shikamaru's request. _-Maybe it has to do with puberty?- _he thought.

**0-0-0-0**

"So let me get this straight," Tsuande said, deceptively calm. "You went ahead and threw the party, spending valuable village resources and time, despite Sasuke's having come back from the future too, and thus having knowledge of exactly what would happen if he went with Orochimaru." Her eyes narrowed. "Is that correct?"

"Looks like it," said Naruto, calm and smiling.

"THEN WHY DID YOU HAVE THE PARTY?"

"It was fun," Sasuke said, calm and brooding.

Tsunade clenched her fist. "Naruto...Sasuke..." she growled through gritted teeth.

"Also in celebration," said Sasuke. "Of the fact that since I remember things from the future, I know all about Orochimaru's plans and secret bases."

"That's no excuse!" chimed in Shizune. "You should tell us stuff like that out of duty to our village, not because...wait," she thought for a moment.

"You do?" asked Tsunade, eyebrows raised.

"I do," said Sasuke, smirking.

"Isn't he great, folks?" asked Naruto, putting his arm around his buddy's shoulder. "Let's all give Sasuke a big hand!"

"Oink," oinked Tonton, surprised.

"Look," said Tsunade, "You can't expect to get out of trouble just because you know some significant information. Nor can you turn a party you should not technically have had permission to have into payment for that information!" Her brows creased as she stood, beginning to get warmed up for the extremely heated lecture she was about to give. "You should be giving that information to us because we're your Village leaders, and we're in charge of protecting you!"

"Easy, Grandma," said Naruto, smirking in unison with Sasuke as he raised his hands in surrender.

"We're just messing with you," Sasuke finished. "We'll take whatever punishment you decide on."

Tsunade stared at them for a few seconds, impassively. Shizune stared at her, getting a horrifying inkling of what was about to happen next. "Lady Tsunade..." she murmured, a little scared.

Tsunade sighed. "Alright, you get off easy this time."

"LADY TSUNADE!"

"OINK!"

"Uh...did I hear you right, Grandma?" asked Naruto.

Tsuande looked grumpy. "Yeah, yeah, don't think this means I have a soft spot for you or anything," she shrugged. "I'm just saying if I had been in your shoes, at your age, I'd probably have done the same thing."

"Lady Tsunade, I don't think that's the kind of thing you want to be admitting..." Shizune mumbled to her mistress.

"He's already seen me when I'm drunk," Tsuande said. "And heard what I had to say. Not much else I can say to incriminate myself."

Sasuke leaned over, a confused and slightly humored look on his face. "You've seen her drunk?" he asked incredulously.

"You missed a lot while you were gone," responded Naruto.

"You're telling me," said Sasuke.

Tsunade sighed. "Alright, then. Sasuke, Naruto, you are both dismissed for the time being. I'm sure Kakashi will be getting to your regular spot any minute now." She was correct; it had almost been two hours past the time Kakashi said to show up. "After you two finish training for the day, I want both of you to come back for Sasuke's debriefing."

"As you wish, Madam Hokage," said Sasuke, back to all-business. All jabs and proddings aside, he really did want to obey Tsunade and in whatever way he could, and therefore help out the village in whatever way he could, this time around. Though he probably should have called her 'Lady' and not 'Madam'.

"Okay then, I'll make sure...oh! That's right!" Naruto frowned. "I can't make it. I'm doing something after training that I can't put off..."

"That wasn't a request, Naruto," said Tsunade harshly. "That was an order."

"I'm sorry, Lady Hokage, I just can't..." Naruto said, switching back from 'Grandma Tsunade' in an attempt to appease her.

"What?" shouted Shizune before Tsuande could. "What on Earth could possibly be so important that you think you would be allowed to disobey a direct order from your Hokage?"

"Well..." Naruto blushed, playing with his fingers in a very familiar way. Sasuke moved another small step to the left, this being the first one that anyone noticed. Trying to get away from Naruto, who was in the line of fire.

"This had better be good, Naruto," Tsunade warned.

"Oink," squealed Tonton, angry.

"I'm supposed to meet with Hinata's dad today," Naruto said, smiling. "He's gonna check to see whether or not I'm 'suitable' to date his daughter!"

Silence.

"Why do you sound so happy about that?" Sasuke finally asked.

Naruto grinned. "Because I've got a plan!"

Shizune sighed. "I should have figured. This can't end well."

Tsunade sighed as well. "Fine, fine...Sasuke will go through debriefing alone." She looked angry. "But the instant you're done talking to Hiashi, you're going to come back here. Understood?"

"Hiashi...that's his name," Naruto mumbled. "Alright, got it! You can count on me!"

Silence again.

Once again, Sasuke broke it. "You're telling me you were dating Hinata exclusively for years...

"...and you didn't even know her father's name?" asked Shizune, hands on hips and angry look on her face.

Naruto groaned, shaking his head. "It was just a joke...sheesh..."

**0-0-0-0**

"Oof!" Ino's back hit the ground, causing the wind to be knocked out of her. "Ow..." she grumbled, sitting up.

"You okay, Ino?" asked Chōji, taking the step or two necessary to crouch down next to her. "Sorry. Didn't think I hit you that hard."

Their sparring had been going well. Each had agreed not to use any jutsu besides taijutsu, and it was actually a pretty even match. Chōji's power and pudgy presence were quite the offensive and defensive force against the equally effective Ino's speed, skill, and subtlety of movements. Or, rather, that was what _should_ have happened. In reality, Ino was getting tossed around like a rag doll.

"It's alright," Ino said, not looking at Chōji. She slowly got up, dusting herself off. A faraway look was on her face. "We're sparring. You're supposed to hit me."

Chōji frowned, eyebrows creased. "Ino..." he scolded, settling down onto the grass. "If there's something wrong, you need to tell us."

Ino sighed. "I guess I'm just preoccupied, is all. Sorry."

Chōji frowned some more, worried. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ino chuckled. "Think you could understand boy problems?" she asked, looking sideways at him as a bit of her old personality shone through. Chōji felt the goosebumps rise on his skin as his cheek muscles tightened, pulling his serious frown into a tightly scared one and making his eyes extra-wide. Ino giggled a little bit. "Hee, hee...didn't think so."

The mindwalker slowly looked sad again, then turned upwards. Chōji recovered, then looked up as well. Nothing appeared to be in the sky except for clouds. Chōji smiled, then turned his sitting position into a lying one, turned parallel to where Ino would be if she were lying down on the grass as well. "Great day for cloud-watching, huh?" he asked his teammate.

She nodded, truthfully speaking a simple "Yeah."

A few seconds of silence. Suddenly, realization flashed across the male ninja's face. And, like literal flashes, it was at lightspeed that his face changed to his very startled one. _-Wait a second...-_ he murmured in his head as his smile slowly came back, teeth showing this time. He stood up, not as fast as his face could change, but still fast enough to get Ino's attention. "You're in love with Shikamaru, aren't you?" he shouted, grinning.

"Wh-what?" stuttered Ino, blushing. "No!" she said, shaking her head and hands, vehemently denying the claim. "No! No way! Not at all!" She stopped. "Well, I guess...I-I don't know, maybe."

"Seriously?" Chōji asked, happy at the prospect of his two best friends getting together. "Oh, wow, this is phenomenal!" He turned, lost in fantasies of... "You guys'll start dating, and then you might get engaged, and that means you'll get married, and every wedding needs a reception, and a reception means ALL YOU CAN EAT!" ...food. "The most gourmet dishes imaginable! Hah hah!"

Ino sweatdropped, blinked, then laughed. "Chōji," she tittered, "Don't you think you're getting a little carried away with all this? I mean, I don't even know for sure if I like Shikamaru like that or not..."

"Alright, alright," conceded Chōji. "But you have to admit the scenario is possible."

"Lots of things are possible," Ino said to Chōji as a nearby figure moved from his hiding place and began crawling away. "I mean, it's _possible _I could end up marrying you!"

"...what kind of food would be at the reception?" Choji asked, half-seriously.

"Chōji..." Ino warned just as half-seriously as the being watching them slowly and cautiously moved out of hearing range. And that being was...

_-What a drag,- _thought Shikamaru, who had stumbled upon the scene quite accidentally while practicing his stealth. Asuma had maintained stealth was necessary when using trench knives, but even Shikamaru's 200+ IQ couldn't fathom why. He could fathom what his two friends were saying just fine, though. _-Things definitely aren't going back to normal any time soon.-_

**0-0-0-0**

Sakura was at the bridge. Sakura was annoyed. If Sakura had a weapon, someone would probably have died by now. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but only a slight one. She really was extremely annoyed, though. She always hated being alone.

_Clunk. Clunk. Clunk._

Footsteps on the wooden bridge. Sakura looked up angrily. "THERE you are!" she shouted, slightly crouched as if ready to pounce. "Where the heck have you been, Naruto? It's bad enough waiting for Kakashi to show up, but when I have to wait for you too..." she suddenly stopped as she noticed another figure behind Naruto. A very familiar and (in her opinion, at the very least) very handsome figure.

"Sorry," apologized Naruto, stepping forward and revealing a very flustered-looking Sasuke. "Grandma Tsunade wanted to talk with us about something."

Sakura blinked, blushing slightly and mouth just the tiniest bit open. "Uh," she said, "Oh! Okay, that's fine," she said, nodding to Naruto. She stepped forward past him.

Naruto smirked a little bit himself as Sasuke blushed, showing his teeth, obviously scared. The Uchiha looked around for a few seconds, as if waiting for something to come from nowhere and startle him. Or, rather, to save him. "H-hi, Sakura," he said, stuttering for the second time in as many days. He licked his lips, which suddenly seemed very dry for some reason. "How are your parents doing?"

"Smooth," intoned Naruto sarcastically as he leaned on the railing of the bridge, hands in pockets.

"Why would you want to know that?" asked Sakura, smiling and laughing.

_-It's the only way I can think of to ask about you without actually asking about you,- _Sasuke thought. "Oh, uh, no reason. Just, uh..." he stopped for several seconds as he tried to think of an answer. Naruto, not helping matters at all, simply rested his chin in his hand, leaning towards Sasuke behind Sakura's back with an overly-expectant mocking look on his face. "...by the way, I just thought I'd let you know I hate you. I really do." He blushed harder as he crossed his arms in front of him, turning away from Sakura poutingly. "So...yeah. You should just go away and forget about me."

Naruto brought his hand up to his face rapidly enough to make a noise, while Sakura didn't seem to take Sasuke's words seriously at all, instead choosing to laugh at them. "Somehow I don't think I believe you," she said.

"Well, why wouldn't you believe me?" Sasuke asked angrily, though not necessarily angry at Sakura like some might believe. His blush increased still more as he asked her. It was all very awkward.

Sakura ignored his question, instead walking back to Naruto, who was leaning on the rail again and looking away from his two teammates, mind in other places. "Isn't he just the sweetest thing when he's all nervous like that?"

"As red bean paste," mumbled Naruto, looking over Sakura's shoulder at Sasuke, who was sagging and defeated-looking. He grinned a mocking grin. "Nice job!" he mouthed, somehow completely serious and very much messing around at the same time.

_-You're not exactly doing a good job of making me want to stay here in the Village, Naruo,- _mentally shot back Sasuke, eye twitching and mouth curved in a wavy frown. _-You're really not.-_

"Hi, everybody!" came an extremely flamboyant voice from just behind Sasuke, who turned. Naruto and Sakura looked over his head at Kakashi Hatake, their sensei, whom they had not noticed had entered the scene. "How'th it going?" And who apparently was speaking with a lisp now, and posing with his hip stuck out slightly.

Everyone's faces, or at least those that could be seen, scrunched up in confusion. "Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura, confused as a top in an earthquake factory. "Is that you?"

"Of courthe it'th me!" sprayed Kakashi, strutting forward. Not 'walking', strutting. "Who elthe would it be?"

_-What horrible effects has our coming back to this timeline unleashed?- _thought Sasuke, fearful for his life.

"Hey, lithten," said Kakashi moving from one hip to the next, pose-wise, "There'th a thale going on right now, tho whaddya thay we knock off training and thee-"

Naruto thankfully stopped Kakashi before he could go any further. "Okay, what is going on?" he shouted, standing up straight from the rail. "Who the heck are you and what have you done with our sensei?"

"Who, me?" asked Kakashi in his normal voice. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. As for 'what have I done with your sensei,'" he thought a moment. "I grabbed some milk and saved a kitten stuck in an upside-down tree, then had to grab some more milk because I left the first carton at the bottom," he tilted his head, "And as for what's going on here," he shrugged, "I have no idea."

The other three face-faulted. Sakura stood first, angry as one would expect. "You have no idea?" she shouted.

Naruto joined in quickly. "You're the one who came in here acting like a teenaged girl!"

"Well, you see," said Kakashi, "When I arrived at the bridge I saw you, Sakura," and he pointed at his pink student, "Talking happily with you, Naruto, who was leaning on the rail and ignoring her," and here he pointed at the ninja known as Naruto, "And you, Sasuke, being ignored whilst looking like a goof," he finished up by pointing at his sulking student. He closed at least his right eye, and his left one may or may not have been closed too, and put his hands on his hips. "So I figured I must have accidentally dropped into some parallel dimension where everyone is similar, but different. Once I knew that, I thought it would be best if I tried to blend in." He struck the pose again, regaining the lisp. "Tho, did I like, do a good job?"

"Excellent," said Naruto without much emotion, giving a thumbs-up with a very world-weary look on his face.

_-Thanks for the distraction, Kakashi, whether you meant it or not,- _Sasuke mentally said. He breathed a sigh of relief. "So, what are we supposed to be doing for training today?" he said aloud.

"Nothing," said Kakashi.

"What?" asked everybody there. And though they said the same word, they said what they were trying to say in wildly varying tones. Sasuke's voice was startled, Naruto's voice was saturated with confusion and Sakura was angry. Not just her voice, Sakura herself, facial expression, body language, all of it angry. "YOU MEAN I HAD TO WAIT ALONE ON THIS BRIDGE FOR NOTHING?" she shouted.

"'Fraid so," said Kakashi apologetically. "You see, I was available for a mission better suited for me than for someone who already had it," Kakashi said. "Shikaku, I believe his name was...anyway, since I'm doing the mission and he's not, all four of you, counting him, get the day off...or, rather, you get the day off unless you're called out to a mission." He smiled again. "Lucky you guys! Two days off in a row!"

"That can't be very good for improving ourselves," mumbled Sakura, saddened.

Kakashi shrugged again. "That's the way the ball bounces. You all will just have to find something else you can do for the day. Bye!" And with this unexpected and sudden farewell, he poofed away in a puff of smoke, leaving three very confused Genin in his literal dust.

Naruto stared at the spot Kakashi had just been in, blinking a few times. He turned to Sakura. "Hey, Sakura," he said, "If you're that upset about it, we can help you train without Kakashi-sensei." He turned to the third member of their group. "Right, Sasuke?"

Sakura turned as Sasuke started sweating. "You'd really do that for me?" she asked, stars in her eyes. "Oh, thank you so much!"

"Actually," said Sasuke in a high-pitched voice, "Lady Tsunade wanted me to see her right after training, so I probably should go right now!" And he turned and sprinted away.

Sakura gazed after him for a few seconds before sighing, perhaps a bit more mournfully than was strictly necessary. "Sasuke," she murmured sadly. "I just want to spend time with you, is all..."

Naruto frowned. "So, go after him," he said, quite sensibly. "He's obviously got it bad for you."

Sakura turned to Naruto, smiling again. "Thanks for the advice," she chuckled, "But I really don't think he's going to spend time with me until he wants to." She shrugged. "He's shy, I guess. He'll come around."

She walked away after that, in the opposite direction from wherever Sasuke had rushed off to. Naruto watched her leave. _-He does want to spend time with you, Sakura,- _Naruto thought to her, _-It's just that he won't let himself, is all.-_ He sighed. _-Looks like I've got to save you two _again,- he thought, wryly smiling to himself as he walked off. _-Ah, well. If Sasuke's going back to talk to Tsunade, I guess it's time for me to put my plan into action.-_ He stopped. _-Or...maybe instead, I should go ahead and...-_

**0-0-0-0**

Sasuke panted, bent over with his hands on his knees. Luckily no one was around, or he'd have been embarrassed. He stood up with one last gasp, looking around to find out exactly where he was. He'd gotten slightly lost as he ran from Sakura, whom he did want to be with and did not want to drag down, and thus was confused about. Now, he was certain he was very far away from the Hokage's tower, though he wasn't positive about exactly where he was.

_-Okay, next time you meet Sakura, have a plan of attack ahead of time...- _Sasuke made a mental note to himself. _-You're a horrible actor.- _He grumbled. _-Seriously. You've lied before, do it again. 'I'm just not interested in you.' That's all it'd take!-_

"Hiya! Ya! Hya! Ha!" said a feminine voice from nearby. Sasuke looked in that direction, now distracted. Maybe he wasn't quite as alone as he had first presumed. He walked over in that direction, stepping around a building and into a rocky clearing.

"That's it!" said Might Guy, arms and legs constantly moving at blur-level speed. "Put your back into it! Let the power of youth flow through your veins!"

"Ha! Yaha!" continued Tenten, striking at her sensei with various weapons, pulled out from an equally varied amount of scrolls with such quickness that most civilians would say she was pulling them from nowhere. On Guy's other side, Neji struck various times, but each time was dodged or knocked away from underneath the blow. Neji looked angry that he couldn't get through his sensei's defense.

Guy suddenly stopped moving, raising his palms in the air. At this command, his students stopped moving almost as quickly. Unlike him, however, they were very out of breath. "Alright, that's enough for right now. You're both performing excellently." At this, his two students moved out of battle position, bowing to their teacher. "Let's take a quick break." He turned to Sasuke, smiling. "After all, we have a visitor! How about it, kid, care to take on the most handsome man in all the Leaf Village?" And his teeth gleamed as his thumb moved up and forward.

Sasuke sweatdropped. "...no thanks, Guy-sensei. Kakashi-sensei had some kind of mission, so he gave us the day off, and I just happened to end up here, is all. I'm not really-"

"How very lucky of you!" said Guy as his pupils sat on two of the larger rocks nearby, still panting for breath. "I was supposed to be on a mission today, too, but when Kakashi came up as available, everything got switched around," gleam, "So I'm free and ready to help give you as much high-intensive taijutsu training as you need!"

"That really won't be necessary," said Sasuke. He looked around a little. "Hey, where's Lee?"

"LEE! OH LEE!" wailed Might Guy, suddenly turning and kneeling and embracing a small boulder. "OH LEE!"

Tenten sighed. "We'd almost gotten him to forget, too," said Tenten.

Neji shook his head. "He really should not have been out dancing last night. We tried to get him to stop, but he claimed that...I don't even remember what he claimed." He rubbed the bridge of his nose with one finger. "Since he had been in such a bad mood lately, we let things slide."

_-That's right,-_ thought Sasuke, who had heard but not seen Lee at all at last night's party. _-Lee was injured. And he was dancing?- _He sighed. _-I don't think even Naruto would do something like that...would he?-_

"We made him promise he'd just slow-dance, and keep on his crutch the whole time," said Neji. "But apparently even that was enough to aggravate his injuries."

"The surgery will have to wait until tomorrow," said Tenten. "Guy-sensei's really upset, so we're trying to get his mind off of everything."

Guy suddenly stood, back straight and fist clenched. "I know that he knew better!" he cried. "But I also know that deep in his heart, he couldn't help himself!" The fist clenched harder as tears and snot ran down his face. "An all-day party with your friends! With music and dancing!" He rubbed his face with his jumpsuit's sleeve. "Could any activity be more youthful?"

_-I could think of a couple,- _thought Sasuke, smirking a little bit. "Right, well, anyway, I'm out." He turned, still as cool as ice. "I have some important business with the Hokage."

"What kind of important business?" asked Neji.

"That's classified," responded Sasuke simply before leaping off into the sky, presumably landing on some nearby rooftop, as he seemed to disappear.

_-Classified?- _thought Neji, startled.

_-To receive a classified mission at his age, and at Genin level,- _thought Guy, impressed.

_-That seems a little off to me,- _thought Tenten, dubious.

Still, the three tried to put it out of their minds. Classified was classified, after all. And they had training to do.

...what kind of 'classified business' _was _Sasuke up to?

**0-0-0-0**

"Enter," came Tsuande's voice from the other side of the door. Sasuke opened that same door, getting ready to look around, but deciding against it after seeing the look on Tsuande's face. The very _angry _look on Tsunade's face. "And where exactly have you been?" she asked him, angrily. "From what I hear, your training session ended almost an hour ago!" She sighed. _-I should have known that already, I admit that...I'm the one who sent Kakashi on the mission...but still.- _She mentally growled. _-That hardly excuses him from coming in late.-_

Sasuke winced. He'd been afraid that was coming. "I got lost, I guess." Apparently he didn't know the Village Hidden in the Leaves _quite _as well as he thought he did. He could almost always see the building in the distance, but no matter which road he took, it never seemed to get any closer. "It's been a while since I've been in the Hidden Leaf Village, after all."

Tsunade fumed. "Hmph. Well, you've kept all of us waiting," she stated, not angrily, but still rather annoyed.

"YEAH!" shouted Naruto, who Sasuke noticed was tapping his foot. "Man, I was getting worried that you weren't gonna show up! I wasn't sure whether to go to Hiashi's, or stay here, or what!" He looked thoughtful. "And that was after deciding that since the old man wasn't expecting me for a while, I could afford to stop by here."

"Oink," verbalized Tonton.

Sasuke smirked. "What? More nervous than you let on earlier?" he asked, relishing his move in this little mocking game the two played.

"I am now!" said Naruto.

"Relax," said a voice Sasuke hadn't realized was there, and which he now turned to. Shikamaru stood as he continued speaking to Naruto. "Just call him 'Lord Hiashi' and not 'the old man' and I'm sure everything will go fine."

Sasuke blinked. "Shikamaru?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking bored. "Sorry I got back so late," he said, looking sideways at Sasuke. Not as in, out of the corners of his eyes, but straight on at the blue-shirt, with his head turned sideways. "But hey, considering how lazy I am, you should probably just be thankful I got back at all."

Sasuke blinked. "So...that means you're..."

"It seems you time travelers are just crawling out of the woodwork this week," said Shizune, shrugging. "Believe it or not, I'm starting not to even be surprised by it anymore."

Shikamaru smiled. "Sorry to be an anticlimax," he said. "But try not to be too disappointed. I had to give up our weekly lunch at the Barbecue place to be here." Now he frowned, looking back to the Fifth Hokage. "All jokes aside, we have some very serious things to talk about, correct?"

"Indeed," said Tsunade, leaning forward and placing her hands on her desk, folded together. "We've got a general idea of what will happen in the future from Naruto," and here she tilted her head towards him momentarily, "But we could use as much info as we can get. If you two would be kind enough to share your sides of the story, that would be excellent. I believe we'll get an especially large amount of information from you, Sasuke," and here she indicated the traitor who had not yet betrayed anybody.

"IF?" quoted Naruto. He fake-pouted. "I didn't get a choice in whether I told my story..."

Tsuande ignored him. "Shizune?"

"Yes, m'lady?"

"Go inform Asuma that Shikamaru may not be back for a while. He is in a meeting." The Medical Hokage brought up her cup of green tea to her lips, beginning to wish that she didn't have to put up with all this nonsense.

"Right," nodded Shizune, before exiting the room. _-Darn...I wanted to see if I could get any more secret information about Lady Tsunade...-_

The only Chunin in the room watched Shizune (carrying her pig, which was oinking in protest, for it wanted to stick around too) exit, then close the door behind her. He turned his head towards Tsuande, but still didn't move. "Sorry," he said. "If I'd known you were the one needing me and not the other way around, I'd have tried to get here sooner."

"That's alright," sighed the Sannin a bit reluctantly. Then she thought a little more about what he'd said after the word 'sorry'. "What do you mean, 'the other way around'?"

"That can wait," said Shikamaru. "For now, I believe we have some stories to tell."

**0-0-0-0**

Sasuke had a lot of information to deliver on Orochimaru, but not much otherwise. Shikamaru, of course, was just the opposite. Naruto popped in with some new detail he'd remembered every now and then, or corrected his friends when he thought they might be wrong. Shizune came back about halfway through the first story, reporting the message had been delivered.

The paperwork continued to get backed up.

Tsunade sat still for a few seconds after Shikamaru spoke his last sentence, then leaned back and exhaled deeply. She rubbed her cheeks wearily, suddenly feeling ready for a nap. "Alright, then," she said slowly, trying to fully comprehend all the information that had been thrown at her in the last three hours. Not as condensed as Naruto made things, which was both a good and a bad thing. Good in that there was more information to work with, bad in that there was more information to remember. "Here's what we'll do."

Shikamaru and Sasuke leaned forward slightly, while Naruto looked above her head, at the clock. _-Come on...come on...-_

Tsunade sat forward again, looking at Shikamaru, then Sasuke, then back again, and so on and so forth, directly in the eyes. "For now, we'll keep the same policy as with Naruto. Don't tell anyone without my express permission.. I tell you this for a various number of reasons that, if you're really curious about, you can ask our resident knucklehead." She puffed out a great breath of air, exhaling strongly for the second time. "You're all dismissed...I need some time to think."

"Right! Thanks!" shouted Naruto, who had gotten more and more anxious as time went on, so anxious he didn't even hear the 'knucklehead'. Understandable, considering he had wanted and gotten permission to not show up until late, and had still come at the beginning and stayed for the much-longer-than-he-expected whole thing. "See ya later!" And with these words, he dashed out the door , for he was afraid Tsunade was going to say something else that might keep him from his very important meeting. Or that would just get him in trouble somehow. That had happened before.

"...what he said," said Sasuke a bit more slowly in his words and in his steps, turning. "Only perhaps without so much enthusiasm." With these words, he reached the door as well.

Shikamaru watched to make sure the black-haired young man left before turning back to his, and the Village's, leader. "Being Hokage sure is tough sometimes, isn't it?"

"You have no idea," said Tsuande, rubbing her head while Shizune looked on in pity.

"Still, I'm afraid..." said Shikamaru, groaning slightly as he sat down because the kinks from standing up for three hours straight were still there in full force, "...I have one more favor to ask of you, m'lady."

Tsunade groaned much louder than Shikamaru did, covering her eyes with her hands. She massaged the area around the eyes for a short time before saying, "Alright. What's this whole thing you need me for about?"

"Well, you see..." said Shikamaru, smiling genuinely for what this timeline's Tsunade could honestly say was the first time she'd ever seen, "...there's this girl."

**0-0-0-0**

"There he is," said Kidōmaru, looking down on the village with eager anticipation and darker-than-the-usual-evildoer's bloodlust. The Leaf was very foolish, not cutting down the trees that reached higher than the walls. Or perhaps just too overwhelmed with bureaucracy. "Let's get him."

"Let's not," said Sakon, watching, along with the other three, Sasuke walking along the village streets, stopping to talk with one of his many admirers, relaxed and blissfully ignorant of the danger he was in.

"Why not?" asked Tayuya. "He's right there, you know. And besides, I'm tired as is. I'd really like to go back home."

Jirōbō shook his head. "Too many," he said. "We'd never get in that village and back out alive. There are just too many."

"Feh. I can handle a few Leaf ninja," Kidōmaru bragged. Perhaps with reason, perhaps without it.

"A few, yeah," pointed out Sakon, "But a whole village? I doubt it."

Tayuya exhaled sharply through her nose. "Alright, I get your stupid point."

"Tayuya..." warned Jirōbō.

The only female member of the Sound Four (formerly Sound Five) continued as if she hadn't heard. "So, we have to wait then?" She looked at Sakon. "Until he leaves the Village?"

"He'll get a mission eventually," said Sakon, leaning forward. "Maybe even a solo one. And then, when he steps out from the village, when he's unprotected except perhaps by a few ninja of his own skill level, and perhaps one more much more skilled one for a sensei..."

"We grab him," the spidery teenager finished. He laughed. "Alright, then, a waiting game it is! We have plenty of provisions to satisy our appetites..." And his eyes narrowed. "Until we can sate ourselves with his blood!"

They all chuckled evily as they leapt down and further outwards from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, preparing the ambush they were certain would eventually, inevitably, come.

* * *

So apparently Chōji ships ShikaIno. Who knew? Speaking of 'Shika', this chapter was originally supposed to focus on him, but it ended up being more between him, Sasuke, and Naruto. I'll leave it to you to determine whether that's a good thing or not.

Anyway, Omake that I literally just came up with! Hip hip hooray!

**OMAKE #3**

The first one that's not a deleted scene; this Omake's all about what could have happened had the Sound Four done something different when they saw exactly what Sasuke was up to. Nothing more, nothing less. And definitely not canon, even in the context of this non-canonical fanfic. Also, it has nothing to do with this chapter and everything to do with last one. First time that's happened.

**0-0-0-0**

"Your contact scroll is glowing," finished Kabuto, who was speaking to his lord and master, a very sick man at the moment. Physically, I mean. He was always sick in the head.

Orochimaru growled. "Well, then, open it!" he commanded.

"Right away, Lord Orochimaru," said Kabuto, doing so. He lay the scroll upon the floor in front of Orochimaru's throne.

An image, life-sized, of Sakon and Ukon slowly crackled, with much static, into being from the scroll. Wait...Ukon wasn't there? He had separated from his brother? _-They must have been attacked,- _thought Orochimaru, suddenly fearful of the fact he might not be getting his new body.

Sakon smiled, lifting up the plastic cup Orochimaru had just noticed was in his hand. Some reddish liquid spilled out. "Hey, Orochimaru!" said Sakon. And the one being spoken of noted the fact he didn't include the 'Lord'.

"What is it, Sakon?" asked Orochimaru, emphasizing each syllable to the best of his ability, as if to remind the Double-Man of his mistake.

"Yeah, well...it's like this..." began Sakon, scratching his chin. "The power and stuff you gave us was pretty cool and all, but, uh..." he shrugged. "Heh. We're kind of defecting to the Leaf Village. Sorry!"

"SORRY?" shouted Orochimaru. "WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON, SAKON?" Kabuto, meanwhile, stood in shock, wishing he could somehow teleport out of the room before things got worse, as somehow or other his legs wouldn't move.

"Don't get me wrong, we appreciate everything you've done for us," said Sakon as Tayuya passed by in the background, gyrating around the equally rotational body of Shino, who appeared to be smiling, though no one could be sure. "It's just that, well...Tsunade is a better leader than you are."

"WHAT?" screamed the snake, wishing dearly to do something to the person in front of him but knowing he could not. Kabuto's legs started working again as he fast-walked out of the room, an urgent look of "ohcrudohcrudohcrud" on his face.

"Seriously, she lets her shinobi have _parties_ when they're off duty, how cool is that!" Sakon enthused. "Not to mention that, apparently, if you're in this village you don't get treated like pawns to be sacrificed. That doesn't sound like your average ninja village, but I guess it works...most of these guys are pretty strong..." he suddenly looked back, smiling. "And not bad dancers too, aren't you?" he shouted.

"Sakon," said Orochimaru, in a tone of barely-restrained-anger, "Tell me this is all some elaborate joke...you're a teenager. I can forgive a harmless prank...just tell me you're messing with me. Pulling my leg."

"I'm not pulling anything," Sakon responded, still looking back. "But I think Jirōbō might be trying to pull something." He shouted again: "Hey, you do know that's a dude, right, big guy?"

"Grr..." growled Orochimaru. "SAKON, YOU TRAITOR!" he screeched, loudly and high-pitched.

"Anyway, I just called as a last favor to my former employer, no need to thank me," said Sakon. "In exchange for being allowed to defect, we told them your location. They'll be there soon. Just a heads up."

"Wh-what?" asked Orochimaru, as various violent noises were heard echoing throughout his base. The snake was genuinely frightened for the first time since he saw the old man summon up that death spirit.

"See ya soon!" waved Sakon. "Assuming they take you alive!" and with this ominous and cheerful farewell, he was gone.

"Lord Orochimaru!" screamed Kabuto. "They have extra-long bo-staffs! On _fire_! Get out while you still...AAAAAAARGH!"

Orochimaru slumped in his chair, knowing there was no escape. "I hate everybody..." he mumbled.

**0-0-0-0**

As a side note that just occurred to me: Go Shikamaru's dad. Bow chicka wow wow and all that junk.

Also: if you think Shino and Tayuya would be a good couple, raise your hand!...right. Me neither. That'd be silly. Now Tayuya and _Chōji, _on the other hand...

Nah, I'm just kidding. Unless I get a massive number of reviews supporting the pairing or something. Seriously doubting that'll happen, though. Anyway, thanks for reading and God bless you all! See you next chapter...well, I hope so, anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, a quick question...why did they start making up big words if all the little ones hadn't been used up yet?

Hello there! AProcrastinatingWriter here with the much-delayed-yet-shorter-than-usual fifth chapter of my story! For those of you wondering what's kept me, you can check out my profile to get your answer. For those of you who don't care, you can keep reading with this in mind: I may be updating even less frequently than usual from now on. I'm not quitting, though. Not by a long shot.

At any rate, in this chapter, we shall see how Hiashi Hyuuga handles inner conflict! I for one am looking forward to it. Have a nice read!

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**CONFLICTION, CONVICTION, AND A PROPOSITION**

**-OR-**

**HOW NOT TO LET YOUR EMOTIONS GET THE BETTER OF YOU

* * *

**

_-I wonder how much Sage chakra I could have gathered up by now?- _wondered Naruto vaguely, as he continued sitting extremely still on the pillow that had been provided for him. The other pillow, across from him, was conspicuously empty. _-To think I was worried that _I _was going to make_ Hiashi _wait.-_

Naruto hated waiting. Naruto hated waiting with a passion. Waiting was the antithesis of everything Naruto was. It really was startling that in his past and everyone else's future, he had become quite the ninja, despite this obvious handicap. If waiting was a living being, Naruto would strangle it until it was good and dead. Naruto really hated waiting.

But for Hinata? He'd wait until the moon fell from the sky and the stars ceased to shine, and then he'd wait some more. He loved her, darn it. The only difficult part was proving that to her dad.

Who still hadn't shown up, by the way. _-This is getting ridiculous. Where is that blowhard, anyway?- _Naruto thought, a bit disrespectfully. _-I mean, I know that the old guy's always busy, but come on!- _He narrowed his eyes slightly, suddenly suspicious. _-Is he trying to ignore me?- _His nose scrunched. _-Yeah, that's gotta be it...I mean, what else would he be trying to do?-_

**0-0-0-0**

From a secret panel in a nearby wall, Hiashi watched Naruto. _-Hmm. He is waiting much more patiently than I expected.-_ he thought to himself, not being able to read Naruto's mind. _-Then again, it _has _only been twenty minutes so far.- _Still, a reluctant point in the boy's favor, Hiashi supposed.

"F-father?" came an exceedingly meek voice from Hiashi's right. He turned, doing his best to not show that Hinata had startled him.. "Y-you summoned for me?" Twiddle, twiddle.

Hiashi looked stern as ever he had before, though if Hinata had been a bit braver, she would also have been able to look up after seeing this stern face, and therefore also would have been able to see him gulp. Nervously. "Hinata," he said. "Your...chosen one is here." And that was as close to saying Naruto was Hinata's boyfriend Hiashi was certain he would ever get.

Hinata blushed slightly, though nowhere near the level one would expect. Was Naruto rubbing off on her? "H-he is?" she asked, looking up slightly.

Hiashi stepped away from the wall he had been peering into (or, rather, _through_) just a few moments before. "See for yourself," he told his daughter. _-That will give me more time to think of exactly what I should say when I get in there.- _To think Hiashi was as nervous as Naruto was about all this! Though, admittedly, for very different reasons.

Hinata took a hesitant step forward, turned towards the wall and, with a deep breath, activated her Kekkai Genkai. "Byakugan!" she said as she did so. Naruto's chakra network, more bursting-at-the-seams than any other she had ever seen, was plainly visible. Hinata was honestly a little surprised she couldn't somehow see it even without the Byakugan. Then again, maybe she could. _-Perhaps that is the look of determination he carries around in his eyes,- _she smiled to herself as she thought. She turned to her father again, veins around her eyes relaxing back into her skin.

"Well?" asked Hiashi, as if he needed to confirm that chakra network was Naruto's. Who else had such a large amount of such phenomenally persistent chakra in them? It was almost unastonishing that he had managed to beat Neji, that one time. "Is it Naruto Uzumaki?"

"It is," said Hinata, no longer twiddling her fingers, and no longer looking downwards. Her voice was still quiet, but it was a little bit more hearable, and nowhere near as shaky. Baby steps. She grinned a little. "I am certain that person is my boyfriend." And she wasn't sure whether she hoped her father would, or wouldn't catch the double-meaning there.

Hiashi turned around, something he usually didn't do when addressing people after he'd already turned his back. His mouth fell slightly open, surprised, as he looked down at his daughter. _-She actually seems sure of herself_,- he thought, feeling the heat of her gaze, serious, respectful and determined. _-I have never before seen her like this in my entire life.- _He turned his head back to the wall as he re-closed his mouth, as if somehow he could see Naruto without using his Byakugan. _-Is this Naruto's influence?-_

"Father," Hinata suddenly spoke, unable to hide her concern, both for herself and her father. Still, though, she did not stutter. "Is something the matter?"

_-Get a hold of yourself,- _Hiashi continued thinking as he narrowed his eyes, dropping back into his 'boyfriend is the enemy' mindset. Not that one could blame him, it's simply that that is what happened. _-If he is capable of affecting her so strongly in such a short period of time, then that means he is able to manipulate her to his wishes.- _Obviously, Hiashi did not know very much about his daughter and apparent-future-son-in-law's relationship.

"Father?" Hinata asked again.

"Hinata," Hiashi finally responded, "Stay in here and keep an ear open." He looked at her. "Watch us, if you like." And as he reached forward towards the secret panel's handle while a confused Hinata looked on, he thought: _-This will be a difficult lesson for you Hinata...but it's one you have to learn.-_

**0-0-0-0**

Shikamaru slowly (though that goes without saying) stepped out from the doors to the Hokage's building, scratching his nose as he went. It was itching a lot lately. Maybe this timeline was causing him to develop allergies or something. _-Lady Tsunade was surprisingly cool about all that. I barely had to argue with her at all. Maybe she's got a soft spot for romance.- _He smiled a little bit. _-Or maybe she just wants me out of her hair for a couple days.-_

"Shikamaru!" shouted a feminine voice from nearby. Perhaps a little too feminine, considering her young age.

The young shinobi Ino was speaking of and to actually froze in his tracks, momentarily panicking. Thankfully, that moment passed quickly. He turned, and two familiar figures were walking towards him. "Hey, there, guys," he said, as both his closest friends, each one smiling slightly, arrived at a comfortable talking distance. "What's up?"

"What's up?" repeated Chōji, a bit incredulously, as the smile dropped off his face. "What's up with you, man? You disappeared on us during training!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened just slightly. He was very surprised, but this wasn't a situation that required him to show it, so he settled for the slight-eye-widening. "Didn't Asuma tell you?" he inquired.

Chōji shook his head, while Ino actually thought about his question, finger tapping chin. "No," she finally confirmed, "He never mentioned anything." She tilted her head to the side, now confused. "So what's going on?"

Shikamaru took a split-second to think about the oddity of the situation. _-Not like Asuma to pull a Kakashi,- _he thought. _-Does that mean he's come back too, somehow? Or is the answer much more mundane than that?- _He finished his blink. For some reason, a lot of people thought he took a brief pause before responding sometimes in order to think about what he was going to say next. Well, they were half right at least. "I had to talk to Lady Tsunade about something." Another blink, giving his comrades enough time to burst in with comments.

"What?" Ino startledly asked.

"What's going on?" asked Chōji.

"Relax," said Shikamaru. His usual advice. "It's nothing bad, or even that big a deal." _-At least not a big deal for you.-_

Shikamaru had blinked again. "So, what's going on?" Ino butted in, while Chōji realized that he really should be patient and let Shikamaru get to it on his own.

Shikamaru actually took another blink. _-Everyone's so impatient,- _he murmured to himself, albeit only in his head. "I requested the day off. Considering heading to the Village Hidden in the Sand with my new jutsu."

"WHAT?" shouted Ino, boisterous as ever. Shikamaru didn't even have to blink this time. "Are you crazy?"

"The Sand just tried to attack the Leaf not that long ago!" Chōji said, quite logically considering what little information he had. "And you, a Leaf ninja, are going to just stroll into their home village, unannounced, with no protection whatsoever?"

"They won't attack me or anything," Shikamaru said, "I have the all the right paperwork from our Lady herself. And I don't care if the Sand is suspicious of me."

"Are you off your rocker, they'll lynch you!" responded Ino, the beginning of her sentence coming before the end of Shikamaru's.

"They won't lynch me," said Shikamaru. "They're in a vulnerable position right now, so they need to keep their alliances as open as possible." He turned slightly away, looking up towards the clouds. "And we're the best alliance they've got right now." He smiled a little. "Nice day today."

Chōji looked up, too easily led by changes in subjects. (That said, it really was a nice day.) "Still, I don't understand why you'd want to go to that village," said Ino, still concerned for Shikamaru's safety but unable to put exactly why into logical reasoning at that exact point of time. "It's hot, then it's cold, and it's all sandy-"

"I have my reasons," interrupted Shikamaru, turning to leave.

"And they are?" asked Ino.

"You don't want to know, believe me," said Shikamaru, quite accurately.

"Oh yes I do!" rebutted Ino, a little louder than she had previously been talking.

Shikamaru turned. "I can already see where this is heading," he grumbled. "Ino, you're really-" he stopped himself. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that."

Chōji and Ino looked at him, concerned and confused respectfully. "Are you alright, buddy?" Chōji finally asked. "You seem pretty off right now." A tilt of the head. "You hungry?"

Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose. It still itched. "Yeah, no, I'm fine...just stressed." _-From trying my hardest to avoid the subject at hand neither of you are aware of...well, you kind of are.-_

"Why are you going, Shikamaru?" asked Ino, sounding much more upset about this than anybody would expect her to be.

Shikamaru looked at her with the usual pause, though this time there was no blinking, for he was staring, wide-eyed. He sighed a little. "Okay," he said through aforementioned sigh, "I was going to wait on this until I had some time to think it over, but it's obvious to me," and here he stepped towards Ino, passing by Chōji, who was feeling more and more out-of-the-loop and worried for both of his friends every second, "That we really need to talk."

"Hey, what are you-" began Ino, before being grabbed by the arm and dragged away by Shikamaru. "Let go of me!" Chōji blinked after them for several seconds as Shikamaru pulled Ino just around the corner, Chōji now wondering what the heck was going on.

Then something occurred to him. "Ah, man, I still gotta talk to Shikamaru!" he groaned, scratching his head. He sighed. "Well, I guess I can wait until tomorrow...". And with these words, he slumpingly turned and walked away.

Ichiraku's would later cheer him up immensely.

**0-0-0-0**

From Naruto's point of view, Hiashi suddenly opened up the wall and stepped out of it with absolutely no previous sign he even existed. Understandably, the young ninja fell over in shock. "GAH!" He sat up quickly again, looking angry. "Don't do that!"

Hiashi looked down on Naruto literally as well as metaphorically, raising an eyebrow as if to put himself up even higher without actually moving his body. "Young man, do you really think you're in any position to give orders to me?"

Naruto regained his composure. "Uh...heh, heh. Sorry," he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Still not exactly respectful, though. Figures that Naruto would miss the point. Unless...?

Hiashi looked angry. Moreso than usual. "Of course," he stated evenly, slowly sitting down. "I assume that, in preparation for this encounter, you have taken the time given to you to study the traditions of the Hyuuga household?" _-Please,-_ thought Hiashi secretly, _-I doubt he's had even time to read them with such short notice.- _

"Uh..." intoned Naruto. He smiled, sheepish again. "Sorry, can't say that I have."

Hiashi blinked, then slowly closed his eyes completely to think. _-Hmm. From what little I have heard about this boy, I would have expected him to lie...- _"Well, if by some broad chance you do manage to impress me today, I would suggest studying up as much as possible. You would be coming over much more frequently, after all..." He looked at Naruto pointedly. "Perhaps even to stay, someday."

Naruto grinned at this sentence like that was exactly what he wanted, where Hiashi expected him to suddenly look very scared that he was being expected to, quite possibly, marry Hinata someday. Perhaps the boy simply missed the subtle phrasing of Hiashi's sentence. "I'll get right on that, sir. That's a promise." The grin grew bigger. Yet, where most people would look goofy wearing it (and, technically, Naruto was no exception) on his face, it looked absolutely perfect. "I want to spend as much time as I can with Hinata!"

"...see that you do," responded Hiashi after a few seconds. He retreated slightly into his own mind. _-Hmm. Perhaps he caught my meaning after all. Odd. The boy doesn't _seem _the type for commitment._- His brow deepened as his thoughts did as well. Paranoia will do that to a person. _-Unless, of course, by 'spend more time with her', he mean...,-_

"Yeah, but anyway! I need to introduce myself, right?" Naruto said, breaking Hiashi from his thoughtfulness to look at the boy before the middle-aged man could jump to any inaccurate (And potentially deadly for Naruto) conclusions. The young Naruto's hand was outstretched, and that grin, as boisterous as his personality, was still on his face. "Hey there!" he said. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And someday..." Hiashi could honestly say he had never seen controlled and focused ferocity like this before, "I'm gonna be the Hokage!"

**0-0-0-0**

Shikamaru finally stopped in the grassy clearing that Team Asuma would commonly train in, loosening his grip slightly so as to let Ino think she'd escaped his grasp on her own. "What is this all about, Shikamaru?" demanded Ino as she pulled her arm back from the boy, rubbing it as if he'd been grabbing it anywhere near hard enough to hurt her.

Shikamaru turned around. He looked at Ino harshly for several seconds. She looked back, just as fiercely. Finally, the boy's face softened, and he appeared as exhausted as Ino had seemed earlier that day. "Uuuugh," he groaned, looking up slightly to the heavens. "Ino," he said, looking back at her with a sad look on his face. "Earlier today," he paused, and for once Ino did not interrupt, now curious as to where this was going. "Me and Asuma were training with trench knives."

Ino looked to the right, then to the left. "And...?" she motioned, palm up.

"I'm thinking," said Shikamaru, rubbing his nose.

Ino's head involuntarily moved backwards slightly. _-Shikamaru's actually thinking about what he needs to say?- _She thought some more, as her heart slowly sank within her chest. _-Oh, gosh...that doesn't mean he...-_

"He wanted me to practice stealth, for some reason or another," the young man continued, though only for a moment.

"You heard us, didn't you?" cried the blonde-haired girl, bringing her hand to her mouth.

_-Darn it. I was trying to be subtle about the whole thing.- _"I didn't mean to, but..." he looked at her. "Yeah. Yeah, I did." And he didn't need to clarify exactly what he'd heard them say, either.

Ino's hand slowly moved down from her mouth. "So," short pause, "So now what?" she asked, after several seconds. Shikamaru sighed, deeply. Ino's pupils shrank with a sudden realization of a fear. "Well, I mean..." she smiled, now acting perfectly natural. "So, where are we going for our first date?"

"Ino," groaned Shikamaru sadly.

"We could go to the BBQ place like usual. I know you don't have much money for anything else, so that's alright," Ino blabbed on, as if somehow not hearing what Shikamaru had to say would make it go away.

"Ino..." Shikamaru restated, a little weary.

"Or we could always go to the park for a walk. Keep things simple, you know?"

"Ino," another restating.

"So what time are you available?" Ino asked. "I'm good for pretty much any time Friday or Saturday, but I guess if that really doesn't work for you-"

"Ino!" Shikamaru shouted sternly, stepping close to her and cutting off her sentence."For just once in your life, listen to me!"

The smile dropped off of Ino's face as she shrunk back in surrender. "A-alright," she said, attempting to seem natural, simply by not thinking too much about what was happening.

Shikamaru sighed again, eyes closed and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Ino," Shikamaru finally said, as quietly as he thought he could, "But it's not going to work between us."

Ino's world seemed to fall out from underneath her.

**0-0-0-0**

Hiashi stared at Naruto's hand for a few seconds. "Of course you will be," he finally said, taking the hand with a sardonic smile. But, as Naruto noted,

_-He did take my hand,-_ and the knucklehead ninja smiled a little larger.

"My name is Hiashi Hyuuga," Hiashi continued, a bit unnecessarily. He let go of Naruto's hand. "How are you doing today, young man?"

"I'm doing great!" Naruto said, eager to make a positive impression in any way possible. "I've really been looking forward to meeting with you, sir."

"I'm sure you have," Hiashi responded, not believing a word Naruto said.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I wasn't doing anything else today, so..."

Hiashi actually chuckled. "So, Naruto," he said, smiling (and faking it) as he poured some tea for himself and none for Naruto. Technically, Naruto should have been pouring tea for both of them, but as the boy had said, he hadn't studied. "Why have you come here?" As if Hiashi didn't already know. Still, traditions must be adhered to.

Naruto bowed low to the ground. "Please, sir...I wish to date your daughter."

There was a long silence, wherein Hiashi gripped his cup tightly. Very tightly. "I see," he finally said, voice emotionless. His other hand clenched at his side as he took a drink of tea.

Naruto looked at him. _-Alright, Plan A probably won't work because the old man used to be so __stubborn, but I've got to try it anyway, just in case.- _He smirked within his head. _-Impress Hiashi with maturity and reasoning beyond my years...while still somehow seeming like I'm twelve years old.- _Now the smirk became a frown. _-On second thought, Plan A probably won't work because I don't think I can pull it off.-_

"Well, Naruto, if that is what you really wish," Hiashi finally said, with a slight pause between "Naruto" and "if", for he was uncertain of how to proceed. "I suppose we should get down to business, then?"

**0-0-0-0**

Ino stood there for several seconds, feeling for the second time in as many days like she was going to throw up. "But...why?" she finally said, straining to force the words past her lips.

Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets, shoulders falling slightly down his back. He looked down at the ground for a few seconds. Then, he looked back up. "Honestly, Ino?" He frowned slightly, as it hurt to say these things, even though it obviously was hurting Ino even more. "You're too much like my mom."

Ino blinked. Then, as a defense mechanism, she got angry. "Too much like your mom?" she repeated, much more loudly and with much more inflection. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rather than answer that question (as he knew it would only make her angrier if he answered truthfully, and he did not want to lie), Shikamaru placed his hands on Ino's shoulders. "If I were more like my dad," he partially changed the subject, "Things could work between us. But as is, you're not my type."

"Shikamaru-"

"And I'm not yours," Shikamaru interrupted.

"What?" Ino responded as quickly as possible. Which is to say, not very quickly at all.

"Look me in the eye, Ino," Shikamaru said, for Ino was looking slightly downwards, trying to get things straight in her head, or rather, trying to think of what to say to prove Shikamaru wrong. She did so. "Alright, now...I'm willing to give you a chance-"

"Really?" beamed Ino desperately.

"IF," Shikamaru capitalized, taking one hand off Ino's shoulder in order to place one finger in front of her face, "You can keep looking me in the eye, and honestly say that you're sad to lose _me_, and not sad to lose 'another guy'." He put his finger and fist down, waiting on Ino's answer.

There was a long silence.

"I thought so," said Shikamaru, leaning back and letting go, hands now back in pockets. "You don't really have a crush on me. You're just upset about losing Sasuke."

Ino was still silent. This spoke volumes.

Shikamaru sighed, again. "I was afraid of this happening," he murmured. "I know, everything I've said sounds totally harsh, but I really don't blame you." He looked at Ino, who was still contemplating what had been said. "You're lonely. I get that. I know it hurts a lot." He shook his head. "I wish that..."

Time seemed to stop for a moment. Not that the wind stopped blowing and the birds froze mid-flight, or anything, but neither of them said anything for a few moments. Ino was contemplative. _-I'm not upset about losing Shikamaru.- _She thought for about the sixth time. She was finally beginning to accept it, too. It was a relief and a terror.

For Shikamaru, however, the pieces were all beginning to fall into place. _-I...I think I have an idea.- _He finally managed to say to himself as the flashes of insight stopped blinding his mind's eye. _-And with a little luck, I do believe it could be my best one ever.- _He looked at Ino, now smiling. "Give me time."

Ino looked up. "What?" she asked, quietly.

"Give me a little time," Shikamaru said, "And I'll get you the best boyfriend you've ever dreamed of. That's a promise." He smirked a little. "Forgive me for sounding like Naruto, but hey, I'm excited. And you know that something big is about to happen..." he turned, and began walking away, "If even I'm excited."

Ino blinked after him, all the sadness that had entered into her mind and body a few seconds ago just as suddenly replaced with confusion. "Seriously?" she whispered, blinking several times., for she was unsure whether or not to believe him. She smiled, a little sadly. "Thanks, Shikamaru," she said, too quiet for him to hear, "But let's face it...no boy would ever want me." The sadness came back quickly, as sadness often does.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was looking straight forward with great focus (an unusual sight) in unknowing opposition to Ino's feelings of sadness as he headed towards the Village gate. _-And now,-_ he thought to himself, _-I have _two_ very important reasons to go to the Village Hidden in the Sand_. -

**0-0-0-0**

"Business?" asked Naruto, feigning confusion pretty well, actually. "What do you mean?"

Hiashi looked at him oddly. "I am, of course, speaking of Hinata, and of your dating her."

"And that's business?" asked Naruto, blinking a few times.

Hiashi blinked right back, furrowing his brow in confuzzlement. "Well, I...suppose..." He paused, unsure what to think. _-Wait a second...he's trying to manipulate me!- _His brows went back to their neutral position. _-No. I have to come on strong. Test him to his limits.- _"Indeed. Very, very serious business, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hmm..." Naruto didn't have to feign his being unconvinced this time, for he really was.

"You doubt my words?" Hiashi asked, looking down on Naruto once again. Silence met him as a response. The elder Hyuuga gently set his cup down in front of him. Now it was his turn to smirk in his mind's eye. "Well, let me put things in perspective..." He glared at the boy in front of him, not angry, but very, very pointedly. "Would you be willing to die for my daughter?"

"What?" asked Naruto, surprised. Genuinely.

"Would you die for my daughter?" Hiashi rapid-fired his questions. "Would you undergo torture for her? Would you travel over scorching deserts and freezing mountains?" They were direct and cliched questions, admittedly, but then again, Naruto had to answer them honestly, and Hyuugas were experts in body language, and that included body language of liars. "Would you kill for her sake? Would you go farther for her than any ninja village would ever ask you to?"

"Lord Hiashi..." Naruto suddenly spoke up, head tilted slightly downwards. There was a sad look in his eyes. "I-I can't..."

_-Oh, Father,- _Hinata thought from her hiding place. This was her first independent thought since her dad had begun talking to Naruto, for she was being a passive observer in all that happened, as if she were watching a TV show. Like a TV show, though, several different emotions were stirred within her as she saw and heard the action before her. _-Must you pose such difficult questions? Is all this truly necessary?- _Hinata suffered from low self-esteem, which explained why she sighed and thought her next thought: _-But then, of course, no boy would ever go that far for me. So, perhaps it is good that you let him realize now that he does not feel for me in that way._-

"I just can't_..._possibly..._" _Naruto started up again, then, with a halt, stopped._  
_

_-And there's what I wanted Hinata to see,- _thought Hiashi. _-That he doesn't really love her...he only wants to use her. Just like every other suitor who has come calling. Whether for wealth, for power, for village secrets, or for...-_ The elder Hyuuga shuddered slightly. Honestly, he probably was asking too much of twelve year olds, but then again, the twelve-year-olds were trained ninja, and as said before, young marriages among shinobi weren't uncommon. One wanted their possible son-in-law to be a proper one, after all. Not to mention that, as ridiculous as Hiashi might have been being, he was only doing it to protect his daughter. _-Well, at least he's telling the truth instead of throwing out some pathetic lie.-_

"I can't believe you would even _ask_ that question!" Naruto shouted, standing up and forgetting about Plan A. He looked down, actually angry, at the man he was supposed to be impressing. "I'd do all that and more for each and every one of my friends!" He slammed his hands on the table, sending Hiashi an inch or two backwards with the force of his intimidation. "So of course I'd do all that for Hinata, too! I'd do even MORE!" He was shouting, now, and Hiashi's jaw was slack, for he was not expecting this kind of severe and determined answer at all, even in answers that would pass the test presented by this question. "I'd do anything for Hinata! Anything at all! Because I LOVE her!"

From a nearby wall, a soft thump was heard. Almost as if someone fainted.

**0-0-0-0**

With the sun beating down as it was in the Hidden Sand Village, there were plenty of shadows to choose from for exiting the Shadow Movement Jutsu. Shikamaru chose the one given off by Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro's house, and hoped no guards were looking while he did so. Otherwise his arrival could be seen as an attack by the Leaf Village. And that would be bad.

Thankfully, not only did the guards not see him, but no one appeared to see him at all. _-That's a relief,- _he thought. _-Explaining my presence here is probably going to be difficult as is.- _This was a correct sentence, even though he had all the proper paperwork.

After this thought and a couple more, with a slowness that was purposeful (for once), Shikamaru stood from his crouching position, and began walking a semicircle around the half-a-sphere house of sand. As he did this, he painstakingly calculated in his head exactly what the best thing would be to say to each person that could possibly open the door.

Speaking of the door, Shikamaru was standing at it now, blinking. Twice. Then, he raised his fist up, slowly, and rapped on the door several times. He doubted Gaara would be the one answering the door, even if he had come back in time too. So, that would leave Temari and...

Kankuro opened the thick wooden panel, one hand on a nearby puppet, wrapped in bandages. Self-defense, in case the person at the door tried to attack him. Or at least that's what Shikamaru guessed. The puppeteer stared at Shikamaru for a few seconds, for he was very surprised. "Shikamaru?" he asked, voice at a slightly higher pitch than normal. A few more seconds. "What are you doing here?" he finally asked. And it wasn't a 'I don't like you' kind of rhetorical question, either. Kankuro was honestly confused. (And he would be for most of the rest of the day.)

"Burning up," Shikamaru answered, and yet didn't answer the question at all at the same time. "Can I come in?" And before Kankuro could answer in kind, the boy suddenly zipped (Yes. Shikamaru. Zipping.) underneath the other's arm and directly into the group's living room. It was very unexpected and very fast, which is why Temari, sitting on the sofa, jumped and Kankuro stared, awestruck, at the now empty space before him.

"GAH!" shouted Temari, at the same time wherein she jumped off the sofa, one hand reaching for her nearby fan. "What the...Shikamaru?"

"You both remember me. I'm truly flattered," responded the boy, sitting down on the couch as well. Kankuro, meanwhile, turned and looked at Shikamaru, his brain scrambling to catch up with whatever the heck was going on. A quick look over her, and he saw her new set of clothes. Seems like she had one each time he saw her. "Nice outfit. So what's up?"

"What's...you just! You..." began Temari, pointing to Shikamaru, in various directions, and back again. She could not finish.

Kankuro leaned down close to Shikamaru's face. "Alright, pal, what's the big idea?" he threatened. "I'll give you six seconds to answer that before I pummel your face in."

Shikamaru looked at Kankuro for three seconds. "I was bored," he finally said. "Thought I'd visit you guys." He looked back at Temari, smiling. "Anything fun happening around here?"

"Eh...uh..." blinked Temari. Today was a very odd day, and she needed time to gather her thoughts. So far she wasn't getting any of that time.

Gaara walked into the room, clothed in his red robes and staring impassively at the scene before him. Well, maybe not quite impassive; his eyes were slightly widened. "Hey, Gaara!" Shikamaru said, standing again and walking over to the redhead, leaving one very confused and one slightly befuddled sibling of Gaara's behind him. "How's it going?" and he raised his hand in a fist, slightly outstretched.

Gaara looked down at the fist and blinked. "What are you doing?" he asked. Very matter of fact.

Shikamaru smiled slightly. "It's called a fist bump. We just put up our fists like this and lightly tap them together." Gaara, blinking once more, slowly lifted his hand up and followed Shikamaru's instructions. The layabout grinned. "It's a sign of friendship."

Gaara looked at his own fist for several seconds. "Friendship," he murmured, slightly awestruck. He looked back at Shikamaru. "Thank you," he said, not smiling at all. Still, Shikamaru knew he was happy. Probably. "I'm sorry for trying to kill you."

"Uh...it's cool," responded Shikamaru. Sincerely, but also a bit awkwardly.

After several seconds of stunned silence over someone genuinely trying to be friends with Gaara, Temari stood. "Wait, wait wait, hold on," she said, waving her arms about while Kankuro looked at the scene in front of him, wondering what was making Shikamaru so buddy-buddy with his demonic little brother all of a sudden. "You were bored, so you came all the way out here to Suna to visit us? That doesn't make sense." Her eyes narrowed. "What's really going on here, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru turned to her. He blinked. Serious-looking. "Has Gaara been acting weird lately?" he asked, not answering Temari in the slightest.

"Uh.." Temari was confused again.

Kankuro continued to be suspicious of the shadow-wielder. "Yeah, he has been, actually. Ever since we came back from the Leaf Village, he's been..." He trailed off, forgetting his suspicion while searching for the right word. "I dunno, he's been..."

"A better person," Gaara finished for him. Shikamaru turned back to him. "Or, at least, that's what I''m trying to be. Like Naruto." He paused, then looked over Shikamaru's shoulder. "That is what you were talking about, right, Kankuro?" he asked, hopefully. Not that anyone could tell.

"Yeah," said Kankuro, who hadn't been wanting to say it quite so bluntly for reasons he couldn't even begin to point to, let alone lay his finger on "That's right, I guess."

Temari stomped her way over to Shikamaru, looking angry. "Okay, stop dodging the question," she said, lifting up Shikamaru by his shirt and giving him a glare that put both her brothers in a state of fear even though she wasn't directing it at either of them. Yes, Gaara too. Though, once again, no one could tell. "What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru sighed, completely unfazed. He'd seen both Temari's true and false wrath too many times for it to scare him. Often. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you," he conceded, leading to Temari slowly putting him down. "Though I was hoping to wait until we were in private."

Temari reared her head back slightly at this, surprised. She recovered. "Spill it," she commanded. As a response, Shikamaru suddenly and slowly (if that paradox makes the slightest bit of sense) smiled a cocky smile that set her on edge for several reasons, about half of which she understood. Then, without any warning, he was on one knee, grabbing her hand with one of his own, other one splayed over his heart. "Wh-what the-"

"Temari," Shikamaru said in such a sweet voice one might consider it a parody, "Will you go out with me?"

**0-0-0-0**

"Is she okay?" Naruto asked, looking down at Hinata's unconscious form, leaned up against the other side of the wall she had been watching and listening from. There was a big smile on her face. _-I've got to get her confidence up again, quick...no way all this fainting is good for her.-_

"Yes, she will be fine," Hiashi said, standing up from the blissfully motionless girl. "Her heartbeat is regular, as is her breathing. And there is nothing that would suggest any problem otherwise. Still, just in case, I have sent for a medical unit to come and take a look at her. I have been instructed not to move her body until then."

"Ah," said Naruto, now feeling guilty for sitting her up in a more comfortable position. He didn't want to hurt her, after all. "Sorry."

Hiashi ignored what Naruto said, but he definitely did not ignore the boy's presence. He pivoted to the blue-eyed dreamer. "Naruto. I know we have not had much of a chance to talk," he paused. "But I think it would be best if you left us for the time being"

"If this is about my getting mad at you, sir, I'm...I'm really sorry..." Naruto would have to remember he was still technically twelve years old and not in nearly such good standings with people as he had been in the future. Still, when he got angry, it would be tough to keep that in mind. Naruto was never good at thinking things through when he was angry. Or distressed, like he was now. "Or if it's about moving Hinata, then I...if you give me another chance-"

"It's not about either of those things," said Hiashi, creasing his brow. "Or, at least, not directly." He placed his hands inside his robe. "You, young man, are not at all in control of your emotions. Hardly a good quality in a future son-in-law."

"But, sir," began Naruto.

"And more importantly," Hiashi spoke over Naruto, "That indicates that you are prone to making promises and grand statements that aren't true, even if you yourself believe them." A closing of the eyes. This upcoming sentence was the one part of the small lecture he wished to avoid. Still, whatever it took to keep this...unsuitable...away from his daughter. "It also indicates that you are, more than likely, not in control of the beast inside of you, either."

"Oh," said Naruto, quietly. "That's what it comes down to."

"I do not wish for you to be a danger to her," Hiashi said, turning back to his daughter and looking down at her. "And the elders do not wish for there to be a demon in the clan."

"Yeah. I get that," Naruto said softly, cutting off Hiashi before he could continue.

Hiashi stared at the smile on his daughter's face. _-Though, looking at the way she is when you're around...the way she smiles, how confident she is in herself, the new person that she seems to become the hope you give her when she so much as mentions your name...- _Perhaps Hiashi knew more of the two's relationship than he originally let on. He slowly knelt down as he thought, reaching out and brushing his daughter's cheek ever-so-softly. Smiling a little. Just a touch of emotion. Just a hint of a father. "I almost wish you could stay," he murmured softly.

"What?" asked Naruto, hopeful that drastic measures would not have to be taken.

"Leave. Now." And Hiashi stood again, all his movements and talking sharper, perhaps, than absolutely necessary. "Do not worry about Hinata. She will be taken care of." He began to walk away. "Put her out of your head. She is only a fellow shinobi to you, nothing more."

Naruto looked down at the girl before and a little beside him. "Hinata," he breathed. He showed his teeth with his lips curled upwards, though none would call these movements a smile, for he was suddenly nowhere near certain that any of his plans would work at all. "I...I'm going to...I'm going to make you happy, Hinata."

His talking was nowhere near quiet enough, as Hiashi stopped in his tracks, having heard what Naruto said. He trembled with some undefinable emotion. Then he turned, quickly, making a large movement towards Naruto. "Just leave already!" he shouted. He actually shouted.

"S-sir?" Naruto asked, stunned, as he took a step back.

"I know what you're really up to!" Hiashi scolded, an inner conflict tearing up the landscape of his heart. The quickest, though not the best, solution was to get rid of the source of the conflict. "Boys your age only have one thing on their mind!"

"No, that's not how I think of Hinata at all!" Naruto.

"You little liar!" growled Hiashi, clenching his fist. He suddenly reached out behind Naruto and grabbed him by the back of his collar and the seat of his pants, heading towards the mansion's exit. "You demon brat!"

The 'old man' didn't really mean what he said about Naruto, the young one realized. But that didn't change the fact that Naruto was being forcefully picked up by the scruff of his neck and his waistband by Hiashi Hyuuga, and it hurt like heck. "Hey, lemme go! Let me-"

"Get out and stay out!" Hiashi stereotypically shouted, reaching the front door and quite literally tossing Naruto out of his house. He landed on the soft grass right in front of the Hyuuga flower bed. Hiashi turned, then stopped and turned back. _-We don't have a flower bed.- _

**NARUTO & HINATA**

Spelled out in orange and purple flowers, with a pink-flower heart surrounding them.

Hiashi sweatdropped, managing to calm himself down slightly as he shoved the current conflict out of his mind by focusing on other things. _-How did he manage to get all that planted without anyone noticing?- _He shook his head, then facepalmed. _-We'll have to get __those_ _uprooted, and quickly at that.-_ With this, he turned one last time and shut the door behind him.

Naruto slowly blinked his eyes open, adjusting to the extremely bright sunlight coming from what seemed to be directly above him_._ _-Well, that figures,- _thought the youth. A silhouette suddenly was in between his face and the sun, looking down at him. _-Ah much better.-_

"Yep, this is how your plans usually work out."

_-Scratch that, give me back the blinding sun,- _Naruto thought. He sat up. "Hey, Sasuke. What's up?"

Sasuke was looking behind Naruto now. "Seriously? You planted these flowers? Do you have any idea how sappy that is?" And then, before Naruto could answer: "I just thought I'd come over and see how much success you had with 'wooing' the old man. Not much, from the sound of things."

"Yeah, well-"

"Nice landing, by the way," Sasuke continued. "Nine out of ten, maybe even a 9.5."

Naruto glared at him pointedly. Then, sighing, he slowly made his way back to the land of the standing. Which is to say, he stood up."Yeah, well, that was only Plan A, and I really didn't think it would work. Plan B was my real plan all along!"

"Been taking lessons from Shikamaru, have we?" smirked Sasuke. "Alright, I'm curious. Tell me: what's Plan B?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" sing-sang Naruto, waving his pointer finger. "That'd be telling!" He grinned. "You'll just have to wait and find out like the rest of the world!"

With these words, he walked off in a seemingly random direction, Sasuke staring after him with a bemused look on his face. _-This is either going to spectacularly fail, or phenomenally succeed. And either way, it'll definitely be worth watching.-_

**0-0-0-0**

There was a silence in the house of sand.

Kankuro spoke up first, as was usual when it came to awkward silences. "Okay, then. Didn't see that coming." He looked around. "Yeah, I'm...I'm going to leave now..." And he did so, shooting Shikamaru 'the eye' the entire time.

Gaara turned and headed for the kitchen, correctly deducing that now was not the time for him to be standing in the living room despite not knowing anything about social norms. "I'm...sorry?" asked Temari, unsure whether she really should be apologizing or not.

"Will you go out with me?" Shikamaru asked again in a much more normal tone of voice.

Another silence.

"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!" laughed Temari, clutching at her sides as she fell back onto the couch, which actually wasn't that far from where she was standing.

"Ouch," mumbled Shikamaru, slowly standing up. "Didn't think I was that unattractive..."

"No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just..." and she chuckled some more, standing back up slowly. "You're, what, twelve years old? And we've met each other once, maybe?" She put her hands on her hips, cocking her head slightly. "Shouldn't you be going after kids your own age?"

"I'm more mature than most of the guys you've probably dated," Shikamaru shrugged.

"Accurate," shrugged Temari right back, closing one eye in a semi-wink. "But nonetheless, I'm afraid I just can't see myself robbing the cradle like that."

"You're afraid?" smiled Shikamaru.

"Oh, no," half-laughed Temari, not smiling at all. "Don't try and psychoanalyze me into thinking I really want to date you, deep down. Because believe me when I say: I don't."

Shikamaru gave a small note of disappointment to the air. "Alright, fine. I'll leave you alone, then." With these words, he began walking away.

But, before he even halfway reached the door, Temari spoke up again."Now, hold on, just because I don't want to date you doesn't mean-"

"You know what, Temari?" Shikamaru asked. He turned, serious. "You are radically different from the other girls I know. That's the main reason I asked you out, you know? I like you, and not just as a love interest. I haven't known you for very long, I admit, but I can already tell I like you as a person."

Temari blinked. "Oh, uh...thank you, Shikamaru." She blushed slightly, not because she was developing a crush of her own or anything, but simply because she was unused to being complimented.

"But, to be honest," Shikamaru continued, "I guess I did have a little bit of an improper motive in asking you, as well."

Temari smirked. "An 'improper motive'? Is that what they're calling it nowadays?"

"Yeah," he smiled. He half-turned away. "I wanted to ask you to a battle when you probably declined."

"A battle?" Temari repeated.

"A battle," Shikamaru confirmed. "Just you and I. See who would've won our match if it was the real deal." He smiled some more. "Seeing as you were purposefully holding back and I had such an unfair advantage with the environment."

"Let me guess," smirked Temari some more. "If I lose, I have to go out with you after all, is that right?"

"I'll leave that up to you to decide," Shikamaru responded, waving his hand back as he finished his journey to the door. "See you today at four, at your town's arena." He turned back, one last time, before shutting the door behind him. "Hope to see you there." He turned slightly away from her, towards a nearby room. "Safe to come out now, guys." he shouted, and the door squeaked shut.

Gaara and Kankuro, hearing the 'all clear', came out from their hiding place. "Wow," Kankuro said whilst Gaara stared at the door Shikamaru had just left through. "Did that kid seriously come all the way here to ask you out?"

"Can't say I blame him," said Temari, turning and heading for the couch once again while taking a health chunk of a self-esteem boost from getting a bit of confirmation that yes, she was attractive-looking.

Kankuro turned and looked her in the eyes as soon as she sat down again, unbelieving and slightly mocking smile on his face. "Maybe _you_ can't..." he teased, and Temari stuck out her tongue at him. Gaara continued staring at the door as Kankuro went and sat down next to his sister in order to talk to her. Shikamaru had unknowingly interrupted family time, after all. A strange, but not unpleasant situation in this household, family time was. "Seriously, though, it's kind of creepy."

"Creepy?" asked Temari.

"It's like you said, he's twelve years old." Kankuro confirmed. "And you're-"

"Fifteen, I know," Temari finished, "But it's just a schoolboy crush, you know?" Meanwhile, Gaara was finally able, with a slight bit of reluctance, to tear himself away from staring after the strange boy who had just visited, walking back to his siblings.

"I guess," Kankuro mumbled a little skeptically. "Heh. Kid's got guts, though, I'll give him that."

"Yep," chuckled Temari. After a few seconds, she was suddenly angry as something just as suddenly occurred to her. "You were listening in to our conversation?"

"Guy's puttin' the moves on my sister and I'm supposed to _not_?" Kankuro responded disbelievingly.

Instead of dignifying this with a response, Temari simply smacked her brother upside the head.

* * *

The answer is, of course: not very well at all. Hiashi Hyuuga really needs to decide whether he wants his daughter to have Naruto as a boyfriend or not. For everyone's sake.

Also, poor Ino. Her psychology (at least in this fic, but I also believe in the actual series as well) simply won't allow her to be happy unless she either has a boyfriend, or is chasing after one. Maybe she'll learn differently someday, but I doubt it, to be honest.

...what? Oh, were you expecting Gaara to have come back in time already? Sorry, pals, nothing doing. The last two members of our comradeship will be along soon enough, though. In the meantime, thanks for reading.

And God bless, of course. Can't forget that!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, a quick question...what is a man? Is he a miserable pile of SECRETS?

Sorry about that. Lost my train of thought. Anyways, hello! Welcome to chapter six of You-Should-Really-Know-By-Now! In which the final two members of our time-traveling gang _still _don't remember anything yet!

Not to worry, though: I HAVE THINGS PLANNED OUT. After two more chapters (counting this one, even!) you guys will finally get to see who's coming back next. Lucky you.

So, what's going to happen in this little chapter? Well, mainly Temari and Shikamaru are going to have their rematch. Pretty sure that's the only thing of any importance happening today.

I just realized, this one day in a group of ninja's lives is taking four or five chapters to tell. Huh. Well, no one ever accused me of brevity, I suppose.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!...please?

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX**

**THE GIRL OF HIS DREAMS**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO BEST STATE THE OBVIOUS WHEN OTHER PEOPLE DON'T GET IT

* * *

**

_-Four o'clock,- _Shikamaru thought absently, laying at the center of Suna's arena and looking up at the beautiful sky. The stands were empty, though thanks to experiences long-spent, Shikamaru could easily imagine them filled to the brim with a cheering crowd...or a booing one. _-Wonder whether she'll show up or not.-_

Sometimes, whatever Shikamaru was thinking about would happen as soon as he was done thinking it. This was not one of those times.

He blinked, thinking back on the future. _-Temari,-_ he thought. He chuckled slightly, letting his eyes roam freely across the cloudy sky. _-Impossibly enough, she fell for me once before.- _His eyes slowly blinked shut._ -I wonder if I really can make it all happen over again...-_

**0-0-0-0**

"Shikamaru?" Temari said to him in his dreams. Shikamaru was an adept dreamer.

The boy, the young man, the person uncertain who he was, looked up from his prone position. Even in his dreams, he'd lay down. Lazy incarnate. "Yeah?" he asked the mental construct. Definitely Temari, but older than she really was. About ten years older.

She smiled, leaning up against their tree on the hill. The sky was always blue. Usually cloudy, though occasionally Shikamaru liked a clear day. "Nothing. It's just that it's been a while since I've seen you."

Shikamaru smiled as well. "Been too busy with the real thing," he joked. The dream-world Temari giggled. Very few people besides Shikamaru had ever heard Temari giggle, in dreams or otherwise. "I just wanted a chance to say goodbye to you. Maybe for a while." the smile dropped off of his face rather quickly, "Maybe even forever." He paused for a moment, then seemed to snap out of it, smiling an obviously false smile up at the girl he loved. "Even if you can't really hear me."

Temari's eyebrows sunk downward slightly, and her smile did not move. It was odd that a smile could only become sad by moving body parts other than the mouth. "I see," she said. "How long, do you think?"

"I was hoping you knew," Shikamaru said, turning his whole body to better face her. "I did originally create you as a way to easier imagine what Temari would think of my life and how it was going at the moment."

"Well, I can only know what you do! I'm your dream!" Temari defended herself.

Shikamaru closed his eyes momentarily. "I know," he said, "But you have a way of putting things in a perspective that I would never think about." He smiled again. "Heh. Figures you'd train me to never take a break from you even when I'm asleep."

The half-false Temari giggled. "So, I'm 'troublesome' to you, am I?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Definitely not. Not ever. In fact, it's actually kind of hard for me to call stuff that after..." his eyes sank again. His heart was going to become strained from all these emotional backflips. "Well. You know."

Temari outright frowned. "Right," she said softly. No other words needed to be said.

But Shikamaru did want to say some words, whether they were needed or not. "I already miss you, you know," he said, voice cracking a little.

The young woman looked at him with pity and empathy. "Stressed out, huh?" She smiled a playful smile, eyes half-lidded. "Well, you know what they say helps with stress..." She had switched to her 'sultry' voice, which Shikamaru had been lucky enough to hear several times in the past ten years.

Shikamaru looked down at his twelve-year-old body. "Would that count as pedophilia?" he asked, reacting with the usual uncaring-either-way attitude that he always would, whether the flirting Temari was real or not.

Temari's mood swapped instantly. As frequently happened with the real thing. "I dunno," she said, half-curious. "Hey, why are you dreaming in your twelve-year-old body anyway?"

Shikamaru shrugged, even though he knew exactly what the reason for that was. "Have to start thinking of myself that way," he explained, rolling back over on his back. "Otherwise it's gonna be really difficult to survive these next ten years all over again."

Temari lay her head on his chest, staring up at the clouds as well. She looked like her fifteen-year-old-self again. "I see," she said. "Well, then, let's start over again." She looked up into his eyes. "Hi," she smiled, blushing slightly. "I'm Temari." Her eyebrows creased. "And you'd better not mess with me!"

"I'm Shikamaru," the boy chuckled. "And don't worry. Messing with you would be too much effort."

Temari giggled again. "You always knew how to make me laugh," she said, continuing to smile.

"Is that why you fell for me?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari sat up. "I only know what you do, Shikamaru," she said gently. She stood up. "Well, I guess it's time."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yep. I can hear you shouting my name now." He chuckled. "You sound angry."

Temari turned, smiling down at her fiancee. "Don't worry," she changed the subject back to what was important. "I know I'll see you again soon," she said as the wind picked up. "Don't keep me waiting," she shouted, as if from a distance, as her body slowly turned to sand and blew away.

Shikamaru watched her go with sadness wrenching his chest. "See ya," he mumbled, confusion weighing down his thoughts. It was strange. He'd be seeing the same girl when he woke up, but she'd be a different girl, too. Shikamaru wasn't sure how he felt about that.

**0-0-0-0**

"Will you wake up already?" shouted Temari in the real world. _-I swear, if he doesn't wake up in the next ten seconds...-_

Shikamaru's eyes slowly came open. An angel stood above him. He smiled slightly. _-I assume this is God's wrath, then?- _he thought sardonically as he sat up.

"Finally!" Temari continued shouting as Shikamaru stood. "What is wrong with you? You tell me to come fight you at four, and then when I show up you're asleep?"

"You were late," Shikamaru explained, scratching his itchy nose. "I had nothing else to do."

Temari sighed. "Ten minutes," she sighed, walking back away from him to the edge of the arena. She suddenly turned in her tracks, taking a step towards the shadow-possession-expert so as to better yell "Do you ever do anything besides sleep?"

"Occasionally I eat," Shikamaru responded, blinking his slow blink.

"Hah hah hah hah!" came a voice from the thought-empty stands. Shikamaru turned to the voice, slightly startled. "What?" Kankuro continued. "That was pretty funny!"

Shikamaru blinked yet again. _-Kankuro,- _he thought, staring at the slouched-back figure. His eyes moved a little to the right, Kankuro's left, and therefore to the leaned-forward figure of _-Gaara.- _His head snapped back to Temari quickly. "Glad your brothers are supportive of you," he smirked, "But you're gonna need a much larger cheering section than that if you want to beat me."

Temari whipped her fan from behind her back, sending harmless winds into the general atmosphere and ruffling Shikamaru's clothes slightly. A common intimidation technique of hers. Too common, in fact. If one had been through enough fights with Temari, as Shikamaru had, they would be completely unaffected besides perhaps their hair being messed up. "Tuh," the fangirl scoffed, though she still smiled. "I'm pretty sure my brothers are actually rooting for me to lose."

Shikamaru turned back up to Kankuro. "Wow. You really are a jerk."

Kankuro closed his eyes and smiled, showing his teeth, as he gave the thumbs-up to Shikamaru. Inside his head, he was anything but jovial. _-I'm still pretty darn suspicions of this kid,- _he thought. _-I mean, after meeting Temari once, and that once being the time he fights her, he comes a few hundred miles just to ask her out on a date?- _Less of a distance for a ninja than a civilian, admittedly, but still pretty extreme. _-Then there was all that asking if Gaara had been acting strange lately.- _He looked over to his brother. _-Did the Leaf Village do something to him while we were there?-_

Shikamaru turned back to Temari, now serious. "Alright, then. I'm ready to start whenever you are."

"'Bout time," Temari smirked. "I'm going to enjoy kicking your butt all over this arena." With this, she reared back her fan...

**0-0-0-0**

Stamp. Sign. Read. Sigh.

It was just another cycle. Like the seasons. Like daytime and nighttime and back to day again. Like Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast. Like Sasuke says something quietly, Sakura swoons, Naruto says something stupid, Sakura hurts Naruto, Sasuke says something quietly.

...well, maybe not that last one. Anymore. Time travel was odd.

Tsunade sighed an extra time at the paperwork in front of her, twirling her pencil around her fingers. It was a petition, signed by several prisoners, for better food in the prisons. The Fifth Hokage crunched the paper up and threw it away over her shoulder.

Shizune noticed. "Lady Tsunade," she said quietly. "Are you alright?" No matter how stupid or boring the paperwork in front of them was, it was not done for a Hokage to simply ball up any of it and throw it away.

Tsuande leaned back in her chair. One could call her look pouting, almost, except that it looked much more...contemplative than that. Serious, too. "Shizune," Tsunade finally said, "What do you think about love?"

There was a short silence. Tonton broke it: "Oink, oink?"

Shizune tilted her head to the right as she walked over to her mistress's desk. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Tsunade leaned forward again, thinking back to a couple hours earlier. "Shikamaru himself said that he had always thought it unlikely that Temari would ever fall for him," she closed her eyes, hands moving into their usual togetherness-stance. Almost like she was praying. "And from what little I know about this girl and her psychology and attitude, and even from what Shikamaru told me about her in the future..." she trailed off.

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked, beginning to get the gist of what her Lady was talking about.

"Do you really think it could happen a second time, Shizune?" Tsunade asked, breaking her stoic features. She looked...sad.

Shizune raised her hand up slightly. She sighed, bringing it back down. Then, with a slow smile :"Of course. True love conquers all, as they say!"

Tsunade sighed as well. "I'm not sure I really believe in that, Shizune." She looked downwards slightly. "I mean, let's say 'true love' doesn't exist, even if only for the sake of argument." She leaned back in her chair, slouching a little. Not like her. "To guarantee that you'd end up with someone a second time after time-traveling, you'd have to do exactly the same things you did the first time around again, at exactly the same times, in exactly the same ways.." She leaned her head on her hand, looking a little depressed. "Anything else would make the whole thing-"

"Still a lot less of a long shot than the odds of their getting together the first time around," Shizune interrupted. "After all, this way at least you know which person you want ahead of time, and you know that somewhere they have at the very least the potential to want you too." She shrugged. "Honestly, true love or not, I'm really not worried about them at all."

Tsunade was silent for a few moments. "Heh," she finally smiled. "Thanks a lot, Shizune. That really helped."

"Glad to be of service, m'lady," Shizune responded, bowing slightly and then turning away to do more secretary-ish duties.

Tsuande stopped smiling as soon as her friend and confidante turned away. _-Well, at least I didn't lie about feeling thankful for her trying,- _she murmured, turning around with her chair to stare out the window. _-I know how much it hurts to lose someone you love. So how much more would it hurt for someone who used to love you to stop doing so?- _Another sigh, this one the most heartfelt yet. _-I hope that things are going well for you out there, Shikamaru...I really do.-_

**0-0-0-0**

...and brought it back forward, sending scything gusts of wind bursting forth. Each one sped towards Shikamaru, slightly less deadly than they would have been under normal circumstances.

_-Alright, on the one hand,- _Shikamaru thought in just the split second or so between the air taking off and reaching him, _-These are going to be less-than-deadly, you know this information to be accurate. After all, Temari's not fighting you to kill, because this is a sparring match.- _He shut his eyes tight, _-On the other hand, this is gonna hurt a lot.-_

The gust of wind impacted, causing Shikamaru's ears to pop. Superficial cuts appeared all over his body as the dancing blades of air scattered over and around it, their total force being enough to push an average-sized adult man backwards several feet. But Shikamaru, a scrawnier-than-the-usual twelve-year old, stood his ground, unflinching.

The smirk disappeared from Temari's face. "Wh-what the?" she exclaimed.

Shikamaru silently thanked the two kunai he'd sleight-of-handed down the back of his pant-legs, which were now pinning the soles of his shoes to the ground. "That all you've got?" Shikamaru asked, pulling out a third kunai. "I barely felt a thing!" And he threw the projectile.

Temari reflexively waved her fan, allowing the wind from its waving to nullify the momentum of the kunai and send it spiraling to the ground. "I could say the same to-" she suddenly gasped, and barely dodged out of the way of the two kunai Shikamaru had quickly pulled back of from his pant legs (steel string: more useful than the average ninja realizes) and thrown. Not to kill, of course. Not even to harm. Merely to snip off some hair and the edge of the sash around her waist. But if she hadn't dodged, Shikamaru could have easily had a good claim to have won their bout through virtue of 'I could have killed you right there.'

"Gotcha," Shikamaru smirked, resuming his neutral position as he walked straight forward, keeping an eye on Temari the entire time. "Heh. You were a better strategist than that the last time we fought, as I recall."

Temari scowled, readying her weapon again. "That trick won't work twice," she growled, watching Shikamaru just as carefully as he watched her. "If you want to be technical about things, it didn't work this time. Oh, well." The scowl went away, to be replaced by a small smile that showed how she really felt. "Now the fun can really begin."

Kankuro gaped from the stands. "Woah, did you see that?" he finally exclaimed, turning to the redhead of the trio. "I don't think I've ever seen Temari actually have to _dodge_ a projectile before. Have you?"

Gaara shook his head. "No," he said, a little bit unnecessarily. "Temari's always been able to knock them away with her fan."

"Yeah," Kankuro concurred as Shikamaru stopped moving, directly across from Temari once again. "I'd forgotten how smart this Shikamaru kid could be."

The darkness and air users stared at each other for a few minutes. Shikamaru finally sighed and sat down. "Alright, then, I'm gonna sit here and think for a bit about what I'm gonna do next."

Temari gaped, eye twitching. "You're seriously sitting down and thinking in the middle of a freakin' battlefield?" she shouted, nonplussed.

"And how lazy," Kankuro chuckled. "This kid is something else, I'll give him that."

Temari growled. "Be serious!" she shouted, waving her fan. Another large blast of wind rushed forward at Shikamaru.

The boy sighed as he lay backwards, allowing the wind to pass over him harmlessly. It hit the wall behind him, creating a small hole that no one would later say was their fault, as battling in the Arena outside of special events was technically illegal. "You, know I've gotta say, the clouds are really nice today," he said. He then rolled to the right quickly, letting another windburst pass by harmlessly, except of course not harmlessly to the wall. "Ah, much better. Couldn't quite see that one before."

Temari gritted her teeth in frustration. "QUIT MOVING!" she yelled, sending forth a gust of wind so large it couldn't possibly be dodged without jutsu, or at least some effort. (However, making the blast that large also made it much slower and weaker, so the wall, if nothing else, would be fine this time.)

Shikamaru suddenly tossed a small capsule from his hair. It landed a little to the side of him, engulfing him in smoke. A split-second later, the wind swept away all of the smoke, revealing empty space where Shikamaru used to be.

"What?" Temari exclaimed again. She looked around. "Where did he go?" She looked around, confused, for a second or two.

"BEHIND YOU!" Kankuro shouted from the stands, showing he really did care.

Temari turned, almost quickly enough. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru said from directly inside Temari's shadow, performing the necessary hand sign. It was, of course, an instantaneous success. Shikamaru smirked. "Shadow Possession: Success!" he said, just to add insult to injury.

Kankuro groaned, sitting back in his seat. "Great," he grumbled. "It's all over now. And the kid has plenty of chakra left this time, too. Just fantastic."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. Never assume it's over until the last seconds of battle pass. He'd learned that from Naruto, too. "We'll see," he said quietly, enough so that Kankuro didn't hear him.

Shikamaru continued smirking as he straightened up, Temari being forced to straighten up as well. "Alright, then," he said, placing his hands into his pockets. Temari placed hers into imaginary pockets as well. "Looks like I...wait a second." He suddenly frowned, because he noticed Temari didn't look worried at all. Quite smug, actually. "What are you up to?" he asked sharply, leaning forward slightly.

"Thanks for leaning forward," Temari said. "Gives me a better shot." Right after she said this, Shikamaru's eyes widened, giving her an even _better _shot. Temari suddenly blew out a puff of air straight at Shikamaru's eye. Thanks to her control of wind, and her Wind-type chakra, she was able to put a very small amount of cutting ability into that puff of air, too.

"GAH!" said Shikamaru, stumbling backwards, concentration broken, and clutching his eyeball. Not in pain (though there was a mild amount of that as well) but in simple shock. Some things you just don't expect to affect you quite as much as they do, and so their effect can be greater than a more powerful effect you know is coming. He opened his other eye in realization _just _before Temari's closed, metal, giant fan hit him in the face. _-Well, this is going to hurt, too.- _

The loud amount of noise produced by that metal fan meeting his skull at an exceedingly high speed seemed to confirm Shikamaru's' theory. Kankuro flinched, anyway. Gaara, having seen and caused much worse, remained unfazed...well, his eyebrow was raised, for he had seen what Temari had done to get free. Odd, but effective, he supposed.

Shikamaru landed at the edge of the arena, several yards away from Temari. _-Note to self,- _he groaned, even in his mind, as he clutched the knot that was rapidly forming on his head. _-Don't ever shadow-possess Temari again.-_

"Sorry about using such weird tactics," Temari said, and though Shikamaru wasn't certain, she sounded sincere about it. "I don't normally fight that dirty. But when you paralyze a girl's entire body besides her eyes and mouth, she starts running out of options."

"Understandable," growled Shikamaru non-sarcastically, managing to stand up off the ground, still a little dizzy, and very annoyed. Also, his eye still stung a tiny bit. Plus, he had a throbbing headache now. "I won't try that trick again." He blinked a little more rapidly than usual. _-Alright, then. Plan A failed, and instead of her being annoyed and unfocused, I am.-_ He mentally shook his head, though his real one wisely continued to glue his eyes to his opponent. _-Think. What is my next move?-_

"Hyah!" Temari shouted, putting just a tiny bit more oomph in her swing by doing so. Another wave of air shot forward, homing in on Shikamaru.

Aforementioned shinobi barely dodged to the side, surprised. Another hole in the wall, slightly wider than the other one. Shikamaru grinned. _-That's it!-_ he thought. He dashed into the newly-made hole, causing everyone watching him to blink at the simplicity of this new plan. The simplicity that none of them had even thought of.

"Hey! You're outside the arena, moron!" Temari shouted. She didn't really mean it, Shikamaru hoped.

Shikamaru's head poked into the hole. "Never said you couldn't go out of it," he called back before disappearing again.

Temari smiled a small smile, raising her fan into the air. "I'm not saying you can't...I'm just saying it's a bad idea." She brought the fan down. "Wind Style: Sandstorm Jutsu!"

The floor of the arena was made of hard stone. The ground outside of it was sand. As soon as the wind hit the sand, it formed into a tornado that tossed the grains of rock and dirt this way and that, buffeting Shikamaru hundreds of times a second. The grains _really _hurt when they hit his cuts.

_-Ugh,- _Shikamaru thought. _-Nice going, Shikamaru. You just had to choose an arena where you two are on equal terms.- _His eyes strained against the wind. Sadly, the amount of sand being thrown around was nowhere near enough to cast any consistent shadows for Shikamaru to utilize, and the sun was such in the sky that no shadows nearby reached his own. And even if they did, he couldn't focus enough to stretch his shadow all the way over to Temari through the windstorm. Probably didn't have enough chakra to stretch it that distance, either. At the very least, he didn't feel like he had much chakra at all while the multiple grains of sand were lodging themselves in his cuts. _-She destroys me on equal terms! I have to have a handicap just to stand a chance! What were you thinking, Shikamaru?-_

The wind finally died down, and Shikamaru stumbled forward, now not fighting any of it off. "Had enough?" Temari asked him, then sent another wave of wind and sand at him before he had time to answer. _-Alright, I've got him stuck in one spot now, and he's too far away to do anything about it.-_ She grinned, though her eyebrows made it sinister. _-I've got him, this time.-_

"GAAAH!" Shikamaru screamed as the second bout of wind hit him. Inside, he was much calmer. Nowhere near calm, but still. _-Darn it! Think...what's the best way out of this situation? Heck with that, I'll settle for _any _way...she's got me pinned down here!- _

"Not looking good for the kid," Kankuro murmured,. 'The kid' was quickly becoming his unconscious nickname for Shikamaru. "He really should just give up as soon as this attack ends. After all, he's only a mid-range fighter, and Temari's attacking him from long range." He looked around for a moment to confirm his thoughts so as to not sound like an idiot when he said his next sentence. "Plus, there's nothing around here for him to extend his reach with."

"Probably," admitted Gaara, leaning back in his chair, finally. Still, he didn't say "Definitely," at least.

The second burst of wind subsided, causing Shikamaru to outright fall to the ground. "I'll give you three seconds to give up before the next wave starts," Temari stated, loud enough for Shikamaru to hear. The blonde girl of the sand smirked in her head. _-Heh. Sorry, Shikamaru, but you've lost this time. Funny how even the best of plans fall apart if your enemy does just one unexpected thing.- _

The first second passed.

_-This is bad,- _Shikamaru thought. _-None of my ninja tools can reach her or even do anything effective, and I have no way of distracting her. She's already been distracted twice. She won't let her guard down a third time. And to be perfectly honest, my opponent letting their guard down is what I always rely on.-_

Another second passed.

"Alright, then!" Temari exclaimed, raising her fan. "Time is up..."

'Time is up' connected, subconsciously, to death in Shikamaru's mind. The biggest death in Shikamaru's life was his parents, but the one that had had the most time to sink in and impact him was Asuma's death. Thus, Shikamaru thought of Asuma. Rather than think about his teacher at the moment of his death, though, Shikamaru thought back to his most recent memories of the man. Asuma appeared in his mind's eye, just as he was this morning. Training with Shikamaru, and giving advice on how to use trench knives. _"Always remember," _his sensei said in his memories, _"The basics of trench knife-fighting, as with anything, are key. Never forget the basics, no matter how much you learn."_

_-That's it!- _thought Shikamaru, eyes snapping open. Then they closed again, as Shikamaru didn't have time to facepalm. _-Duh. Wow, I'm such an idiot.-_

The third second passed.

"NOW!" shouted Temari, using the energy released by shouting as such to enhance the power of her swing.

An instant before the wind impacted Shikamaru's prone form, he suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. A pile of sand was left in his place, which was then blown around in several directions, doubling the power of the sandstorm. Unfortunate that there was no target there.

"What the heck?" Kankuro asked himself, while Gaara raised an eyebrow. They did both these things, even though they couldn't see Shikamaru, because Temari reared back in sudden realization, and looked slightly panicked as well. Not things they usually saw when watching Temari's battles.. In fact, Temari whispered something to herself, too, but what she said will not be recorded here, as it was not a very nice thing to say.

"It's not very proper of a lady to use language like that, is it?" asked Shikamaru, from a distance behind Temari. She turned to see him leaning up against the arena wall. Then, her face froze in an expression of terror as she somehow felt her own shadow being connected to Shikamaru's. She could never understand how that worked for the life of her. "Yeah, that Shadow Possession really was a success." Shikamaru smirked. "And from too far away to do anything to my eyes again, too."

"But, how?" Temari asked, fully aware she was repeating her actions from the Chunin exams and absolutely hating it. "Substitution Jutsu doesn't let you teleport...it just makes something else look like you!"

"Yeah, that's true," said Shikamaru, standing up straight so as to allow Temari some comfort. "I had to do the moving-back-here part myself. You see," And he paused momentarily, to savor the moment, before he began explaining, his favorite part of the plan. "First I used Substitution to make a fake me out of nearby sand. I admit the next part came down a little bit to luck." He smirked, tilting his head just the tiniest bit.

Temari's movements reflected his, though her facial expression simply became calmer and a bit more angry with herself, rather than horrified at what had happened. "Luck? Seriously?

"I probably could have done the mathematical calculations for my new technique easily and a long time ago, but I'm too lazy to bother," Shikamaru said. "And if I hadn't gotten lucky, I would have paid for it. I had to hope that the sun's position in the sky, combined with fake me's mass, would cast a shadow big enough for me to use my Shadow Movement Jutsu." He tilted his head the other way. Temari's followed, and she felt and hated feeling every inch of it, even though there was nothing inherently unpleasant about the way she was moving her head. "That jutsu I just mentioned, by the way, is essentially me using any two shadows as a portal. The only condition is that both have to be big enough for me to enter or exit, and that I have to already be touching one."

"A teleportation technique?" Kankuro cried disbelievingly. "Oh, man, so that's how he appeared behind Temari earlier!"

"Of course," Gaara said, like it was the most obvious thing on planet Earth. "Didn't you see Shikamaru rise up from her shadow earlier?"

Kankuro sweatdropped. "I, er...wasn't really paying attention to most of the battlefield."

Gaara stared at him for a few seconds. "Good way for a ninja to get himself assassinated," he said, turning back to the fight before him. Kankuro facefaulted, for he knew Gaara's words were true. Inside the Shikakau-container's mind, a person finally learning to become human was smiling a little. _-I like annoying my older brother._- he decided. _-It's fun.-_

"There's no way," Temari managed to growl out, as if appealing to logic would make the current situation any less real. "I would have seen you doing two jutsus right in front of me!"

"Really?" asked Shikamaru. "Well, if I may," and he imitated Temari's stance whenever she held her fan. "Allow me to demonstrate why you're wrong." And he copied, not quite perfectly but close enough, the way she moved when she swung out a blast of air. He held the position at about the halfway point. "Alright. Imagine you're still holding your fan. Notice anything?"

"I can't see anything in front of me," Temari realized aloud. "My fan's handle keeps me from seeing things clearly while it's in motion."

"Exactly," Shikamaru said. "And any ninja worth his salt only needs a split-second or so to perform a substitution jutsu. Of course, the wall and the positioning of the stands blocked your brothers from seeing what I was up to as well, so they couldn't clue you in to what I was up to." He smirked again, returning to a normal stance that was comfortable for him and would have been comfortable for her had her body not been under his control. "Once the sand me was blocking your view of the real me, I had several seconds in which to use my Shadow Movement Jutsu to come up behind you and fire off one last Shadow Possession Jutsu. From a distance, this time."

"Astounding," Temari half-pouted, for she was only being half-sarcastic.

"You know," Shikamaru chuckled, "I kind of got lucky there, too. I was intending to turn around and ride out one more wave of attack so that I could see when the ideal time to do my thing was, but you decided to shout as you swung. That gave me an approximate moment that I could use substitution this time around, instead of next time."

"Alright, I get it," said Temari resignedly. "So I guess you win, huh?"

"Not yet," said Shikamaru. Temari's eyes dilated as she suddenly felt...something...slither up her leg, her abdominals, her chest, and then finally wrap herself around her neck. "This is the Shadow Strangulation Jutsu. If I squeezed tightly at this moment," And just to emphasize his words, he squeezed a tiny bit, not nearly enough to choke her but enough that she felt it, "I'd choke the life right out of you." The arm receded just as suddenly as it advanced, the shadow it was connected to following. Temari let out a great gasp, not because she was being choked but simply because she was coming out of being startled. "_Now _I've won."

"Woah," Kankuro quietly said, shocked and amazed for the second time today. "The kid actually beat her...he beat Temari in a fair fight."

Gaara closed his eyes, unsurprised...well, mostly. "Shikamaru is a very strong strategist." Gaara's knack was in saying things truthfully, without any excess to it.

Temari sighed. _-Great. That's twice_ _this twelve-year-old rookie has handed me my butt on a silver platter. Way to go, Temari...- _She smiled. _-Oh well. Maybe net time...-_

"Well, that's what I would _like_ to say, anyway," Shikamaru continued. "But in reality, I lost. You've already won."

There was a silence.

"WHAT?" Temari and Kankuro shouted. Gaara blinked, wide-eyed. Partially because he wasn't expecting what Shikamaru said and partially because his siblings were shouting really, really loudly.

Shikamaru smiled. Genuinely. "You remember the first move of our fight, right?"

Temari crossed her arms, still confused, and therefore still angry. "Yeah. I attacked you, you didn't even flinch, and that threw off my entire game. What about it?"

Shikamaru's smile widened. He actually laughed a little as he said his next sentence. "So, imagine this was a real fight to the death, and you really used that as your first attack. How much chakra would you put into it?"

"Enough to-" Temari began to answer. She interrupted herself with the realization of exactly what Shikamaru was implying. "Oh my gosh."

"No way...no way..." repeated Kankuro a few times, wrapping his head around how pointless this whole match had been.

"She'd put enough in to kill her opponent on contact," Gaara said, verbalizing what everyone was thinking.

Shikamaru shrugged and began closing the distance between him and Temari. "I'm surprised none of you brought it up earlier," he said. "You all seem a lot smarter than that. Especially you, Temari."

The young woman Shikamaru was speaking to was massaging the area around her eyes with her left pointer and thumb. "I can't believe I missed that,:" she was saying, mainly to herself. "I even dodged your kunai because I knew you could use that exact same claim against me."

Shikamaru reached a proper distance away for talking face-to-face. "Hey, it doesn't really matter," he said. "You won, right? In a fair fight, you really would beat me, hands down."

Temari looked at Shikamaru for a few seconds. To read her emotions from her face would be rather impossible. _-So for the second time, I win, except really, I lose. Is he doing this on purpose?-_

"Welp," Shikamaru said, now looking up at the sky. "All the clouds around here are gone, and we've already had our rematch." He looked over at Temari again. "No reason for me to stick around." He began walking away, straight past his love interest and towards the second hole that had been made in the arena's walls. "If Gaara starts acting stranger than normal, send him to me. I'll see to it he's taken care of." He raised one hand in the air, waving goodbye without actually turning around. "See you guys around."

"Shikamaru, wait!" Temari cried, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turned, a neutral position on his face, as she ran up to him.

"Oh, don't tell me that she's really going to-" Kankuro groaned.

"Yeah, what is it?" Shikamaru asked, cutting the puppeteer off unknowingly. The arena had good acoustics one way, and poor ones the other.

Temari stopped in her tracks at approximately the right place, simultaneously hesitating to speak. "You know," she finally said, "We're having a festival tonight, starting at about seven. If you would be willing to wait around until then, um..." And she blushed slightly, "We could go together."

Shikamaru smiled. A small smile. A genuine smile. A happy smile. "I'd like that a lot," he said, without a hint of irony, without a single joke about 'robbing the cradle'. He turned again, but still looked back at Temari. "Pick you up at seven, then?"

"Okay," said Temari, nodding happily. She didn't seem to be doing this as a favor or pity date at all.

"Cool," Shikamaru said. "Well, see you then," and he turned his head, walking out the hole in the wall. Temari turned away as well, going to pick up her fan, then turning again slightly to head towards the doors, her thoughts the entire time shaped as a nigh-incomprehensible mess. _-Okay, so I'll wear...but he's twelve...but that smile...I wonder what we'll...what's going...- _and so on and so forth. Stereotypical 'nervous girl before a first date'. And if anyone ever found out, Temari would pummel them.

Shikamaru stopped a little outside the wall, as something had just occurred to him. _-Wait a second...a festival? That means, the first timeline around, we made them skip that festival for a mission they barely did anything in, we still ended up failing, and then they had to work to help make the Leaf Village even better by helping out with our kids.- _He thought for a few more seconds, then: "Heh. Well, I'll just have to make this festival twice as good for Temari this time around." With these words, he turned and walked away, whistling a happy little tune. Perhaps he'd be seeing dream-Temari again faster than either of them expected.

Up in the stands, Kankuro was having a much different reaction to this turn of events. "You have got to be kidding me," he facepalmed after gaping for several seconds. "My sister is dating some twelve-year-old punk from the Leaf Village?"

Gaara stood, his lack of social training and simplicity of words and logic allowing him to cut to the quick of the situation. "No laws are being broken. And she seems happy."

Kankuro just sighed. "You don't get it, man," he said, standing as well. They both left the stands, meeting their sister at the gates. Kankuro had a few choice words for her, but was not stupid enough to say any of them.

**0-0-0-0**

It was 6:30 now in the Village Hidden in the Sand, which meant it was about the same time in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Same time zone and all.

The sun had set earlier than one would think it would. Still, careful mathematical calculation would show that this was simply a very-occasional anomaly, nothing to get excited over. Good thing, too, because the festival was meant to be enjoyed at night. But that will come later.

For now, Hinata was going to bed. Yes, it was extremely early, but the sun had set, and being with Shino and Kiba long enough had taught her the value of early-morning training. Which wasn't to say she was used to it; still going to bed earlier than most shinobi and kunoichi who trained with the rising of the great ball of fire in the sky.

Hinata sighed, thinking of Naruto. She hadn't been able to hear exactly what had happened between her father and Naruto. She was unconscious, after all. But she got the gist of things from various people she asked once she woke up. And she absolutely detested the gist she had received. _-I was so close, too,- _she thought to herself. _-He said he loved me.-_ Holding back tears, she climbed into bed, snuggling up under the blankets. With a heavy heart, she reached over and turned off the bedside lamp.

Meanwhile, several hundred yards and several dozen guards away, the estate ended. And a few more yards beyond that, Naruto stepped into the clearing, looking at the wall. "Alright," he said to himself. "I can't say I'm going to like this too much, but..." He grinned that famous grin. "It's time to put Operation: Win Back Hinata into action!"

* * *

Dun dun dun. And next chapter you find out what Naruto's plan is! Hip hip!

...you're supposed to say 'hooray', guys. Come on.

And yes, I've got a fifteen year old dating a twelve year old in this fic, as the characters have repeatedly noted. But, look at it another way: it's actually a twenty-five year-old dating a fifteen year old! On second thought, maybe a twelve-year-old dating a fifteen-year-old isn't that bad.

I know, I know: the scene with Tsunade comes right the bleeped-out-word out of nowhere, but just because it had no real relevance to this chapter (I admit it!) doesn't mean it won't in future chapters. Character development, people! READ A BOOK!

Nah, I'm kidding. After all, you're reading right now, aren't you? Oh, by the way...

**OMAKE #4**

Yet another deleted scene...with several alterations to it. Mostly changes that emphasize and exaggerate why I deleted it and replaced it with something else. The scene: Shikamaru has Temari caught in his Shadow Possession Jutsu...

**0-0-0-0**

"Looks like I...wait a second." He suddenly frowned, because he noticed Temari didn't look worried at all. Quite smug, actually. "What are you up to?" he asked sharply, leaning forward slightly.

"Thanks for leaning forward," Temari said. "Gives me a better shot." And with these words, she suddenly...

"GAH! What the..." Shikamaru gagged, stumbling back a little, concetration broken. He clutched at his eye, wishing that what had jsut happened hadn't happened. "Seriously? Did you just $!^& spit in my eye?"

Up in the stands, Gaara raised his eyebrow. Kankuro was a little less understated: "What the heck, Temari?" He shook his head. "That's just...that really isn't like you! Ew!"

"Oh, come on!" Temari shouted up into the stands. "I didn't have any options! I couldn't move anything but my mouth!"

"You could have told me you were going to do that!" Shikamaru rubbed his eye. "Believe me, I would have let you go!" He turned. "That's it, I'm out! You win, okay? Sheesh!"

"Hold on!" Temari shouted after him.

"Why? So you can...do..." Shikamaru didn't think well under stress. "Something even grosser to me?"

"Shikamaru!" Temari shouted as he left. "Shikamaru!" She ran after him.

Kankuro sighed. "Man, I have seen some weird stuff happen in ninja battles before, but Temari spitting on her opponent takes the cake."

Gaara thought for a moment. "Either that or the time you used your puppet's left arm to force open your opponent's mouth and-"

"THAT WAS ONE TIME AND YOU KNOW IT!"

**0-0-0-0**

Right. So, to put things in simplest terms: I first thought of having Temari spit in Shikamaru's eye to distract him away from possessing her, but no matter how valid a tactic that was, it seemed out of character for Temari. I typed it all out, and attempted to justify it, but it always felt off. So I deleted it all and turned it into "using her ninja powers creatively". I like this version better: still a cheap shot, but no spitting.

OH, one more thing: note that Shikamaru is not using any of his twenty-two year old techniques, except the one he made up. This is because he is smart: using highly advanced techniques too quickly can make other people suspicious of one's techniques in learning them. Might not necessarily lead to someone determining you're a time traveler, but it can't lead to them determining anything good about you.

Well, then, that was a lot of text in an author's note. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you next time, when Naruto's fantasmicalladocious plan is put into action! You know, I think Sasuke is right: fail or succeed, this is gonna be fun to see play out. God bless and good-bye!

**EDIT: **Fixed a minor plothole. Should read better now.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, a quick question...why does my shoelace keep coming untied even when I triple-knot it?

Hello there, AProcrastinatingWriter here with chapter seven of, you guessed it, No Regrets this Time Around! How do you enjoy the story so far?

This chapter has a couple major events occur, but they're surrounded by a bunch of really minor ones. Horrors! But seriously, this is my longest non-fight-scene chapter yet...which isn't saying much, considering I've only written seven chapters so far.

Anyways, please enjoy the chapter, careful your mind doesn't go anyplace too bad with some of the lines jokingly and non-jokingly said in this chapter, and be amazed as Gaara acts even more strangely than usual when he's at a festival. Read, and hopefully love what you read!

...also, watch out for the inaccurate food being sold at this festival.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**A DIFFERENT KIND OF DATE THAN USUAL**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO PROPERLY APPLY FIREWORKS TO YOUR LIFE**

**

* * *

**Shikamaru stood before the door of his potential-girlfriend's house. He blinked a couple of times, then sighed. He checked a nearby clock on a street post. 6:55, according to the clock atop of it. _-Well, here goes nothing, something, and everything all at once,- _the nervous young man thought to himself. He knocked on the door, shave-and-a-haircut style. Except he didn't bother with the last knock.

Once again, Kankuro opened the door. He looked a lot less confused and a lot more annoyed this time. He grumbled out: "Yep. Right on time." Then, with a smile so false it simply had to be on purpose: "Wait here. I'll go get Temari." And he slammed the door in the Chunin's face.

The Chunin, who did have a mischievous streak even if it was a small one, leaned his head up against the door, ear first. In this position, _-I can clearly hear everything going on inside.- _And he smiled.

"Hey, Temari," Kankuro said, muffled. "Your _date _has arrived. Last chance to tell him it was just a cruel practical joke and avoid dating a twel-"

"Are you still on that?" Temari's voice cut through Kankuro's words. "Look, I've made my choice, okay? And I don't care what anyone thinks!"

"It's not about what everyone thinks!" Kankuro lied. Well, half-lied. "Look, Temari, I'm just trying to think about what's best for you. I know it's been a while since you've had a date-"

"Yeah, because every one of them got scared off by Gaara!" Temari shouted. "Now you wanna move in on his turf, too?"

"That's not what I-gah!" Kankuro exasperatedly tried to defend himself against this slander. As he said this the door opened inwards, nearly sending Shikamaru stumbling into the house. No one noticed but the door-openee, and Gaara did not seem to react, positively or negatively.

"Oh, uh, hey, Gaara," Shikamaru smiled, as the two siblings continued fighting, sounding for all the world like an overprotective dad and his rebellious teenage daughter. _-Would that make Gaara the level-headed mother, then?- _Shikamaru thought, trying not to laugh at the mental image.

"My sister might be a little late," the redhead deadpanned. "Sorry."

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's alright." As soon as he said this, Gaara raised his fist into the air. Shikamaru, befuddled, looked at the fist for a moment before remembering. "Oh, right," he said, raising up his own.

Fist bump.

"See ya round," Gaara said, closing the door. Shikamaru didn't even have to put his ear to the door to hear the shouting now. They sounded less like father and daughter and more like siblings now.

"Look, if you really want me to take your advice seriously, stop wearing that stupid black costume!"

"No wonder you're so good at controlling the wind: you're such a airhead!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

And then the windows buckled with a burst of air. Shikamaru sweatdropped.

**0-0-0-0**

Hinata was having a good dream that didn't involve Naruto in any way. Yes, that was possible.

Hinata was dreaming of a world where ninjutsu wasn't required for peace, and she was a famous singer with a legion of adoring fans. It was a little-known secret desire of hers; though to be honest she didn't think it could ever happen. After all, it wasn't like she could sing. (Or, at least, she thought she couldn't. In reality...well, perhaps not a superstar, but she was pretty good.) Also, she wasn't nearly that confident to get up in front of people like that, at least not yet.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Hinata, a light sleeper, momentarily scrunched up her face before her eyes slowly brushed open. She gradually sat up in bed, turning towards her door with a rather comically messed-up head of hair. "Come in," she mumbled, rubbing one eye with her clenched fist.

"Don't mind if I do," whispered a voice from behind her as her room's window opened.

Hinata did a very over-the-top double-take (comedy enhanced by virtue of her normally-styled-perfectly hair being, once again, rather messy at the moment) and almost screamed before realizing that the person coming in through the window was "Naruto?"

"The one and onl-AH!" Naruto gasped out as he tripped a little bit, sending himself to the floor. Thankfully for him Sasuke was nowhere nearby to laugh at him.

"Naruto!" Hinata gasped, attempting to get out of bed and run over to him.

"Shh!" Naruto pleaded, raising one finger to his lips and his other hand to stop Hinata from moving. "It's alright, I'm okay...no, don't turn on the light!" Hinata had almost turned on her lamp again, to better see her...

...ex. Sniffle. "What are you doing here?" Hinata whispered back, blushing a little. She probably could have thought of a few reasons why Naruto was in her room, but as she and her father had not yet had 'The Talk' she could only assume Naruto was probably here just to kiss her. Like, a lot. She wasn't sure whether she hoped that was or wasn't really the case.

"If you turn the lights on," Naruto mumbled as he stood, brushing imaginary dust from his pants. Hinata was barely able to see any of this, thanks to how dark the room was."Everyone's gonna know I'm here. Then I won't be able to talk to you."

"Sorry," Hinata whispered. Naruto had mumbled a little too loudly, he realized. But before he could apologize for accidentally making her apologize: "Um, what were you wanting to talk about?"

"Oh!" Naruto said, remembering. There was a short silence. "I dunno."

Hinata facefaulted, but thanks to the soft bed not making noise upon impact, Naruto didn't realize it. "You don't know?" She actually seemed a little annoyed with Naruto as she got back up. And believe it or not, Naruto was happy about it. As nice as Hinata's affection felt, Naruto was really wanting (and subtly trying to accelerate the process that would eventually lead to this anyway) Hinata to feel happy about things besides him, too. And, yes, occasionally to be angry with him, if he did something stupid enough.

"Yeah," he whispered in return, attempting to find any chair nearby. He hit his knees several times, but didn't cry out in pain once. Still, each time a 'thump' was heard, Hinata felt a little less angry with him, and a little sorrier for his injuries. She was about neutral by the time he actually sat down, left leg throbbing in pain. "I just wanted to talk with you," he said through the tears. "Not about anything in particular. Just...talk."

Hinata blushed, again. "You came all the way here just to talk with me?" she quietly asked. Even though she couldn't see Naruto nod in the dark, it was rhetorical question anyway. She thought for a moment. _-To go so far...for me,- _she blushed a little more. Finally, as if remembering where and when she was, Hinata turned back to Naruto, smiling a smile that one could easily see even in the dark. "Alright," she happily agreed, "What shall we talk about?"

**0-0-0-0**

6:59 now. Though it had only been a few minutes of waiting at the door, Shikamaru would have sworn up and down and throughout all time, under oath, on any religious text you wanted, that it had felt like years. He did manage a chuckle, though, at the thought: _-And to think it's usually me making others feel like things are going too slow.- _He blinked, face suddenly turning to that of a startled man's, for he had heard Kankuro's last-ditch attempt at reasoning Temari out of dating him. _-Huh...well, that's just silly.-_

THWACK.

Approximately one second after this sound was heard, Temari opened the door, all genuine smiles. Kankuro, a few feet behind her and turned away from the door, was clutching his head in agony. A large, swelling bump was rapidly forming, straight through his cap. "Sorry about that," Temari said. "Ready to go?"

Shikamaru was wide-eyed and wide-mouthed as well, and also was silent for a few seconds. "You..." he breathed out. "You look..." he partially smiled as his mouth fell even further open. "Beautiful." Temari had changed outfits since he'd seen her last. The Chunin was expecting that, but he wasn't expecting her to let her hair down and change into a pink, slightly-loose-fitting kimono. Sure, it was a festival...but still, unexpected. So unexpected and, indeed, beautiful, that it had broken Shikamaru's mental vow to _not _do that specific cliché among first-date-clichés.

The 'kimono-girl' giggled. "Well, duh," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Inside, of course, her heart was beating faster, in satisfaction, relief, and happiness. Then, shutting the door, she stepped outside, a little to the left of Shikamaru. "So," she reiterated, gently reaching down with one finger and snapping her date's open mouth shut. "Are you ready to go?"

Shikamaru kept smilng. "Definitely," he said, after a quick (And purposefully obvious) look up and down his girl's body. She giggled again as she took his arm, and they turned to face the city streets.

The clock struck 7:00.

With a suddenness that had to be timed, festival lights suddenly turned on at every corner of the city, sending beacons of brightness scattering across the sandy ground. Voices of every tone and inflection began shouting hoorahs, laughing with joy, gasping at the spectacle, and even selling their wares. Patterns of multiple colors seemed to swirl in the air as one looked around, for the festival in all its controlled chaos and glorious celebration had begun.

The two took in the sight for a few moments, their shadows standing up in just as much wonder and awe a few feet behind them, thanks to the shut door blocking those shadows from extending into the house. "Wow," breathed out Temari, who had been to her village's festivals before, but never to any so grandiose and spectacular as this. "Amazing..."

Shikamaru blinked a few more times, then chuckled, breaking the spell as he was wont to do. "Well, would you look at that," he said, getting Temari's attention. He made sure she was turning to him before he turned to her. "Even the festival itself supports us being together."

Temari rolled her eyes. "You sweet talker, you," she sardonically said, raising an eyebrow, smirking, placing her hand not occupied in wrapping itself around Shikamaru's arm on her hip in mock-exasperation.

Shikamaru took note of the fact she was blushing again. "Well then," he said, beginning to walk forward. As per usual when the shadow-user faced off with his opponents, Temari copied his movements partially against her will. Not because he was possessing her, however, merely because she was holding onto his arm. "Where do you think we should go first?"

"Hmm," Temari thought to herself as the two's shadows finally relaxed, far away enough from the door to lay back upon the ground again. "I don't know. I'm kind of hungry, I guess."

"Alright," Shikamaru acknowledged and agreed as his voice began fading in the distance. "We'll go to one of these stands first. Do you like dumplings, or would you prefer..."

A few moments of silence.

The door burst open again. "And don't even THINK about doing anything to my sister, you hear me?" Kankuro shouted, uselessly, after Shikamaru. Obviously trying to compensate for being humiliated...while still being concerned for his sister. "I asked if you heard me, you prepubescent little...just because you've got a bunch of hormones raging through your body right now MMPH!"

"Kankuro," Gaara said, using his sand to pull his brother back by his mouth. "Shut up."

**0-0-0-0**

"So what's your favorite food?" asked Naruto as if he didn't already know, continuing the conversation that had begun only in the past five minutes or so.

"Cinnamon rolls," Hinata enthused, for she _really _loved those things. Not that she ever got much of a chance to eat them, but when she did: bliss.

"A sweet tooth, huh?" Naruto asked, smiling. Honestly, alternate timelines or not, it had been far too long since he and Hinata had just talked about nothing in particular like this.

Hinata giggled. "I suppose," she said. _-Perhaps that is why I like you so much.-_ "So, besides ramen, what's your favorite food, Naruto?"

There was a long silence.

"Huh," Naruto finally said somewhat embarrassed. "I really can't think of anything...heh heh..."

"Um..." Hinata was unsure how to respond. "Th-that's okay, Naruto...you like ramen just fine, and that's enough."

"I guess," Naruto finally agreed, a bit reluctantly. _-Man, I really need to extend my palate...-_

"Anyway," Hinata said in a slightly different tone of voice as she shifted in her bed, trying her best to change the subject. "It's really nice being able to talk to you like this, Naruto."

"Yeah, it is!" Naruto agreed wholeheartedly. And enthusiastically. "Usually when I try talking to you, you faint every time I say something. It's really cool being able to say stuff without you going all red in the face like you usually do!"

Hinata's head drooped. "Thanks, Naruto," she said sadly.

Naruto set a new record for backpedaling, even for him. "Oh, no, I mean...it's really not that bad! You're cute when you're all blushy! Really!" He laughed, forced. _-Way to overact your part, Mr. Obliviousness,- _he grumbled in his head.

Hinata sighed. "It's okay, Naruto, you don't have to make me feel better."

"Of course I do," Naruto said, almost reflexively it was so natural. "That's what a boyfriend's supposed to do for his girlfriend, right? You know, make her feel better when she's sad and stuff."

Another silence, though this one was rather short. Eventually, Hinata turned away, as if somehow Naruto couldn't hear her when she did so. "EEEEE!" She squealed in her most high-pitched voice. Naruto, understandably not wanting to be seen in Hinata's room at the moment, unsuccessfully tried to calm her down.

**0-0-0-0**

"Bleh...ugh!" Shikamaru gagged, drawing the dumplings away from his mouth sharply.

"What's the matter?" asked Temari in an overly-concerned voice (obviously fake), that usual smirk that Shikamaru used to hate on her face, "You don't like our delicacies?"

"Not cooked like this," Shikamaru responded truthfully, giving the food-on-a-stick one narrowed and one widened eye. He could honestly say he had never used that expression on foodstuff before.

Temari chuckled, not giggled, as she took another bite of her own meal while Shikamaru tossed the dumplings behind his shoulder and into a conveniently-placed garbage can. "So," she said, then swallowed, tossing her stick away as well, though hers had been picked clean. "What's next? Are you going to try and win me a prize at one of these booths?"

"No I am not," Shikamaru groaned, the very picture of a man at his wit's end. He'd learned long ago that he needed to overact to keep up with Temari's snark. "Please give me a _little_ credit for imagination."

"Alright, then, pineapple-head, what are we doing now?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru flinched. Since Temari hadn't seen him crying over his failed mission, she had been forced to come up with a new pet name for him, rather than 'crybaby'. Pineapple-head would not have been Shikamaru's first choice. Or his second. Or even his third. "Well," he said, blinking his slow blink while patting his side absentmindedly. "I was thinking..." and he smiled, reaching back into the past for inspiration, "We go skinny-dipping."

"WHAT?" Temari shrieked, her hair suddenly becoming frazzled for no apparent reason.

"Joking," Shikamaru said softly, sincerely, as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away, still smiling. "Just joking. Don't worry."

Temari pouted, folding her arms and walking after him. "Another joke like that, Shikamaru, and I swear-"

"Here we are," Shikamaru said as if Temari wasn't even talking, stopping in front of a nondescript booth. Well, nondescript except for the sign next to the old man who was currently operating the booth. "Hey, mister."

The old man looked up, moving his head slightly away from the hand he was leaning on, and acknowledged Shikamaru in no other way. "Shikamaru, what is this place?" Temari asked, trying to look past him at the sign that would tell her, well, what this place was.

Shikamaru pulled out a wad of paper and unfurled it. Inside of it was another wad, this one of neatly folded paper. Paper money, that is. A lot of ryo. A _lot _a lot of ryo. Temari's jaw dropped at the sheer size of the amount of money Shikamaru apparently carried around with him as the young man casually flipped through the creased currency, most likely in order to make sure the proper amount was there. "I know it's a longshot, but think you could do this for me?" he asked the booth's proprietor.

The old man grabbed the paper, pack of ryo still inside of it. He moved the paper aside to better look at it, though crumpled up as it was he still had a hard time reading what was written there. After a minute or two, the man suddenly smiled (the two shinobi believed he did, anyway; it was hard to tell with the great white beard he was wearing). "Aha," he said, looking up knowingly at Shikamaru. "Well, the amount of money you've given me should be just fine for materials, but for labor you come up just a little short."

Shikamaru grimaced. "Must have miscalculated," he murmured as Temari blinked back and forth between him and the elderly man. "Well, I've got a little more here in my pockets, but-"

"Eh, get outta here, kid," the man said, placing the money in some secret pocket or another beneath his counter. "It's a festival, after all."

Shikamaru blinked, quickly for once, then smiled a thankful smile. "Thank you," he confirmed his expression, "I won't forget this." And he turned and walked off again. This, finally, gave Temari the chance to lean over and finally inspect the sign.

Fire in the Hole

Chosen to Provide the Post-Festival Fireworks

You may also Purchase Fireworks Here

Temari blinked again, still confused. Especially since the sign, clear though it may have been, wasn't exactly the usual kind of advertisement. Still, he must do quality work if he was chosen to provide the fireworks for the Festival ._-And more importantly, why did Shikamaru want fireworks for? He didn't even take the merchandise after he paid for it.- _As with their usual battles, she attempted to out-think him, trying to figure out what Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome was up to. _-Hee,- _her mind wandered. _-I like that nickname.-_

"Interested in buying something for yourself, missy?" the old man asked, more to make her aware that she was loitering than to actually see if she needed help.

Temari snapped her head up. "Oh, uh, no thank you," she said, waving her hand rapidly as she straightened her back. "Have a nice evening, sir!" before she even finished saying this, she was already running off after her date, deciding that it wasn't worth it to win this battle and that she would just ask for the explanation as per usual. "Shikamaru!"

"Heh," the man chuckled softly, staring after her, and also after Shikamaru, whose slow walk had not carried him very far away. "I like those kids."

**0-0-0-0**

"Sorry, Naruto," Hinata had finally gone back to whispering again. "I guess I got a little overexcited."

Naruto sighed wearily. "Just a little?" he asked. Not usually being this sarcastic, he did not raise his eyebrow, for he had not mastered that maneuver.

Hinata rubbed the back of her neck with a very sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry," she said again.

Naruto sighed again. "It's okay, Hinata," he said. Unseen to her, his eyes shot towards the door for a split second as he wondered: _-Is it time yet?...no, it isn't. That's good. I like talking to Hinata.- _"Alright, then," he said aloud. "What now?"

"Um..." Hinata started. Her fingers twiddled. "We could talk about our jutsu?"

"Alright, then," Naruto said, leaning back in his chair. "Jutsu it is!" He grinned, and began bragging. Another occasional burst of acting twelve years old so that people wouldn't question the rest of the time. "Gotta warn you, though, Hinata, my jutsu are all pretty powerful! Are you sure you can handle them?"

Hinata outright laughed. "Naruto," she said, in a voice still smothered by giggles, "We're talking about our jutsu, not performing them for each other!"

"I know," Naruto still grinned, crossing his arms, "But my jutsu is just that powerful!" And Hinata laughed some more, as the first half hour or so of conversation passed. There would be a lot more conversation between that time and 10:33, the time when (unbeknownst thus far to Naruto) it would be time to put Step 2 into action.

And really, despite all the mystery surrounding it, it was only a two-step plan.

**0-0-0-0**

"Shikamaru!" Temari caught up to him, and he finally turned, with one last (slightly angry) cry of his name. She stopped, panting slightly.

"Yes?" asked Shikamaaru, unsmirking, because that would have been redundant with the voice he was using. "What is it?"

Temari looked just a little angrier. Still not quite all the way to angry, though. "What was that all about?" she asked.

"Sorry, but that's a surprise," Shikamaru shrugged. "But before you get angry and start demanding exactly what just happened-"

"I wasn't gonna do that!" Temari snapped, blushing, because she really was.

Shikamaru ignored her: "Look where we're standing in front of." he finished.

Temari blinked, then looked at the booth Shikamaru spoke of. It was almost completely covered in festive lights, so much so that it was hard to see the sign that identified the booth. Not to mention that it was a couple of feet further back than most of the booths, so that added distance into the equation. Still, Temari saw the sign eventually, and she gasped when she did. "Karaoke?" she cried, taking a step backwards.

"Not much less cliché than winning you a stuffed animal, I admit," he said, "But it's something."

"No way, no, uh uh!" Temari vehemently refused. "Since when do you enjoy karaoke anyway?"

Shikamaru turned to her, smiling that heart-fluttering smile. "Believe me," he said, "You have no idea some of the things I enjoy."

Temari blushed while her eyes involuntarily grew wider. "Um..." she said, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"Not like that," Shikamaru clarified, shaking his head slowly. "Anyway, come on," and he began walking towards the-

"No!" Temari interrupted the course of events before he could take a single step. "There's no way I'm embarrassing myself in front of all these people just because you like to sing, pineapple-head!" She seemed to be using it more as an insult than a nickname now. It was a bit too unwieldy to really be used as a nick/pet name anyway.

"Aw, come on," Shikamaru urged, hiding his annoyance at having that nickname used on him again, "Singing a romantic song to each other? What could be better on a date?"

"I'm not doing it!" Temari crossed her arms, straightening her back to emphasize the height difference between her and him.

"Oh, yes you are," Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he smirked, closing one eye.

"Oh no I'm not!" Temari partially shouted, closing her eyes, turning away from the Leaf shinobi in order to emphasize her point.

"Oh yes, you are," Shikamaru almost whispered, moving his hands into a familiar position.

"Oh no I'm-" her face suddenly froze in an expression one didn't normally see on her face: shock and surprise. Then it softened into one of 'oh no, not again', another expression one did not normally see on her face. "Oh, shoot," she lamented, as her hands moved into a position identical to Shikamaru's.

"My Shadow Possession Jutsu says you are," Shikamaru said with an air of finality as he turned (and therefore Temari turned) to the 'Karaoke Shack'.

"No fair..." Temari pouted as she was forced to walk along with Shikamaru towards the stand she hated.

"What, and spitting in my eye earlier was?" Shikamaru asked.

"I didn't spit in your eye!" Temari defended herself as a figure slowly emerged from the shadows of a nearby roof.

"I dunno," Shikamaru said, as whoever it was's eyes narrowed, "Pretty sure I felt something wet in my eye."

"Yeah, tears!" Temari's voice began fading as the vendor of songs looked very confused. The figure upon the rooftop sweatdropped a little.

**0-0-0-0**

_Whump._

Sasuke landed upon the ground, knees bending to absorb the impact of his falling. He slowly stood, slowly moving his head to the left and to the right, observing the general area around him to see his handiwork. He smirked. _-Finally,-_ he said to himself. Every single target, each one in a wildly different position, some on nearby trees, some on the ground, one even behind a rock. A very familiar seemingly-haphazard combination of targets...with a kunai at the very center of every one of them. _-I finally did it...and all on my own.-_

"Wow! That was incredible, Sasuke!"

The person being spoken to flinched, clutching at his now-heavily-beating heart. After a few deep breaths, he put on his angriest face (to compensate) and turned. "What are you doing here, Sakura?" he asked angrily.

"You hit every single one of those targets!" Sakura continued. "I could never do that!"

"Sakura," Sasuke smiled, upper corners of his mouth twitching downwards to show that it was fake. (Or that he was trying not to smile and desperately failing.) "What...are...you...doing...here?"

"Do you think maybe you could show me how to do that?" Sakura asked, still 'oblivious' to Sasuke's questions.

"I'm leaving now, Sakura," Sasuke said, turning away.

"Alright, alright, alright," Sakura gave in, causing Sasuke to reluctantly turn back, an annoyed look on his face. "I came here because I..."a pause. Then the pink girl continued: "Well, I wanted to come after you and see what was going on." She smiled, placing one hand on her cheek as she blushed a little. "At first I wasn't going to, but Naruto told me I should, and-"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Sasuke interrupted. "Wait."

There was a long silence. "Uh..." Sakura finally said. Before she could say anything else, Sasuke spoke up again.

"You actually took _Naruto's_ advice on romantic issues?" Sasuke pointed out, a very good point as a matter of fact.

"Eh heh heh heh..." Sakura giggled sheepishly. Then, she suddenly stopped, and blinked. Her face almost instantly turned expressions, and for all the world she looked like a mischievous cat."Sasuke Uchiha...did you say 'romantic'?"

Sasuke straightened his back involuntarily, teeth gritting into an expression of horror. His entire face turned extremely red. "Well, yeah, I mean," he said, very loudly, as if somehow the volume of his voice would make his words more believable, "You have a crush on me, right?"

Sakura giggled, then chose to ignore where this conversation was heading. "So," she finally said, "What are you doing training out here so late?"

Sasuke took a quick look up at the night sky to confirm his thoughts. "It's only about eight o'clock," he said, blush slowly fading, as Sakura seemed to have accepted his answer. She seemed that way to him, anyway.

"Which is pretty darn late considering we had the day off," Sakura said. She began walking over to him, taking another look around at the kunai everywhere. "So, what's the point of this exercise, anyway?"

Sasuke looked at her like it should be obvious. "To improve accuracy," he said, moving his shoulders in a circular motion. His twelve-years body was not quite used to intensive workout like his adult body was.

"But what kind of situation could possibly require you to be accurate to exactly those eight points?" Sakura asked, estimating the number of targets that her love interest had hit as she walked closer to him.

"It's not about trying to be accurate to those eight points," Sasuke said, a little annoyed. _-I really shouldn't have to explain this to her,- _he thought. _-She's a smart girl.- _"If you can be accurate in situations like this, it's much easier to be accurate in much...blander situations, shall we say." And he threw another kunai from his pouch, hitting the bulls-eye on a nearby target again, from a slightly different angle that made sure two kunai weren't attempting to occupy the same space at once.

"That's very interesting," said Sakura, still walking forwards. "So, then..."

"Yes?" asked Sasuke, a little more annoyed, as he turned back to her. The Uchiha's eyes widened and his blush came back as Sakura threw her arms around him, drawing him close to her with such suddenness that both of them fell over. "GAH!"

"Oomph!" escaped from Sakura's mouth as Sasuke landed atop of her. Still, though, she smiled, a slight reddish tint coming onto her cheeks. Absolutely nothing compared to Sasuke's cheeks. "Hee, hee, sorry. I didn't mean to go _this _far!"

Sasuke nearly broke the laws of physics pulling himself as far away from Sakura as he could. Unfortunately for him, his brain was a bit scrambled at this time, so he didn't think of simply getting up and running off, instead scooting back into a tree and wishing it wasn't there so he could scoot even further away. Sakura's giggling broke him out of it. "Hey! Stop laughing! Why are you laughing?" he said, acting much angrier than he was, for what he really was was confused.

"You're so adorable!" Sakura said, trying to stifle her laughter. Her blush increased slightly as she realized exactly what she had just said to the object of her affections.

"I am not adorable!" Sasuke said, standing up quickly to better shout down at her to better emphasize his point to better get her to go away.

"Yes you are!" Sakura argued, still smiling, as she stood up, and began walking closer to the former evildoer.

"H...hey!" Sasuke said. "Stay back!" and he fumbled for one of the nearby kunai. Not that he'd ever hurt her...anymore...but maybe he could make her believe he would.

Yeah, she wasn't buying it. "Come here," she said, drawing him into another hug. "You big lug."

Sasuke froze as Sakura squeezed a little more tightly, happiness radiating from her face. He wanted nothing more than to hug her back, get a girlfriend, get _her _as a girlfriend, and live a normal teenage life, but each and every strain of guilt on his conscience weighed down his arms, preventing him from moving them upwards to embrace her. "Sakura, I..." _-I don't love you,-_ he said very easily in his mind. _-Just say it!-_ "...I..."

Sakura stretched upwards and kissed Sasuke on the cheek.

The person going through life a second time and feeling things for the first was expecting his heart to start beating like crazy at this. Rather than that happening, it seemed to stop. He knew it couldn't have, since he was still alive, but for the life of him he couldn't feel it beating. He couldn't feel Sakura's arms wrapped around him. He couldn't feel the night breeze. All he could feel was the spot on his cheek that her lips had touched. And it felt for all the world like Amaterasu had touched him there, without the usual pain that accompanied that sensation.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke," Sakura said, letting go and turning away from him. She began walking away, an absolutely serene look on her face. **CHA! I did it! **her inner shouted. **I FINALLY DID IT! I kissed Sasuke! Who's the girl? You're the girl! YEAH!**

Sasuke, meanwhile, simply stared after Sakura's retreating form, noticing things about it he hadn't ever noticed before. For example: Sakura actually had a little bit of curve to her, even at this young age. After a few seconds of this staring (and many similar observations), a small amount of Sakura-shaded-pink coloring his cheeks, Sasuke turned to the tree he had just been leaning against and began slamming his head into it repeatedly.

**0-0-0-0**

From the shadows of the rooftop he stood upon, the figure watched. Temari had apparently gotten over her earlier embarrassment and was now singing with great gusto. Shikamaru was singing too, but not nearly as enthusiastic. Considering that Shikamaru was, well, Shikamaru, he was proportionally about as enthusiastic as Temari was. _-Enjoy your time, Shikamaru,- _said the figure with disdain, _-You don't have very much of it.-_

"Kankuro."

The figure, identity now revealed, nearly fell off the roof he was standing on. After recovering, he turned to the one who had spoken. "What?" he loudly asked.

"Are you spying on Temari and Shikamaru?" Gaara asked.

There was a long silence.

"No," Kankuro finally said.

Another long silence. Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe."

Yet another long silence. Gaara folded his arms.

"Yes."

Gaara blinked. "Stop," he said simply, bringing up an ice cream cone to his lips and licking it.

"Stop?" Kankuro asked incredulously. "That's our sister down there, dude! Dating a _twelve-year-old_! Do you not get how...incredibly creepy that is?" He leaned in conspiratorially towards his brother. "Not to mention that he's from the Leaf Village." Another lick of ice cream by Gaara. "Our former enemies, remember? Or should I say: still enemies! He's obviously trying to sabotage our way of life!" Another lick, and Kankuro finally took notice. "Where did you get the ice cream?"

"The festival," Gaara said simply. "You should come down and enjoy it, too. It's a lot of fun."

Kankuro blinked. He then wrapped his arm around his brother. "And you should help me try to split them up. Whaddya say?"

"No."

Kankuro grumbled. "Fine then. I'll do it myself...GAH!"

"No," Gaara repeated, bringing his sand back and licking his ice cream again. Kankuro, his lower half encased in the sand, sulked. "Now let's go enjoy the festival." And he turned and began walking to the platform of sand he had used to carry himself up to the roof in the first place, dragging a still-sulking (And very uncomfortable) puppet-wielding ninja behind him. "I'll buy you some ice cream."

Meanwhile, just below Temari's brothers and across the street, the girl whose brothers were both looking out for in their own special ways and her date had just finished their last song and emerged, laughing, from the booth that supported their singing. The small but appreciative crowd that had gathered finished their clapping (to which Temari had eagerly bowed and Shikamaru had merely tilted his head) and moved on with the festivities "Okay, I admit it," Temari relented with a last few chuckles, "That was pretty fun."

"Of course," Shikamaru agreed, "You have a beautiful singing voice."

Temari hid her blush with more snark: "Thanks. You don't."

Shikamaru just grinned. "Alright, then," he said. "Well, my immense intellect and imagination seems to be coming up short tonight, as I can't think of a thing to do next." He looked around, for a few moments. "Let's see...eeny meeny miney mo?"

Temari giggled, then looked around for a bit as well. Her mind's eye zoomed in on a particular place, though: "Hey! How about we get some ice cream?" she asked Shikamaru, pointing over to another nearby stand.

Shikamaru looked where she was pointing for just a second or two. "Alright, then," he said. "Ice cream it i-" he stopped, surprised. He looked down at his hand.

Temari was holding it.

"Well, come on!" she said eagerly, rushing over to the stand and dragging Shikamaru with her. He was still too surprised to respond or resist (not that he particularly wanted to do either of those things, but still), but nowhere near too surprised to stop thinking.

_-Okay,- _he laid out the situation before him. _-Temari took until nearly the end of our second date to hold my hand the first time around, and even then I was the one who had to grab it.- _His eyes narrowed. _-So, did she come back too, or is this just because she's still a young teenager? Or maybe some other reason entirely?- _He shook his head. _-Gah. You're way too paranoid, you know that, Shikamaru? Not everything that's happening differently this time around has a hidden, sinister motive to it.-_

"What the heck?" Temari said, and Shikamaru noticed that they were standing still now. He blinked at his and Temari's interlocked hands one more time before looking up.

"Huh?" Shikamaru asked, wide-eyed. _Now _he was unable to think.

Gaara and Kankuro were standing in front of a terrified ice-cream vendor, and Gaara was ordering a fudge-flavored cone. Kankuro was being held in place by a large amount of sand flowing from Gaara's gourd.

"H-here, just take it!" the vendor said, his outstretched arm shaking in fear. The fudge scoop was clearly in danger of falling off.

Gaara took the cone before it could be upset. "I insist on paying you-"

"NO! Just...just go away, please!"

Gaara sighed, then began to turn to Kankuro. "Oh," he said, seeing his sister and future brother-in-law. "Hey."

Temari and Shikamaru blinked a few times. "Okay, what's going on here?" asked Temari, placing hands on hips.

Of course, to do this, she had to let go of Shikamaru's hand. _-Aww...-_ the young man thought, disappointed.

"Kankuro was trying to interrupt your date," explained Gaara. "I stopped him."

"You stay away from my sister, you little-" Kankuro began before being gagged by sand. It tasted horrible.

"Oh, he did, did he?" asked Temari in an overly-cheerful voice. "Well, then," and she began walking over to her non-demon-possessed brother, who suddenly looked very scared, while cracking her knuckles.

Gaara stepped between the two. "Please," he said, raising his free hand (for he had finished off his own cone just a minute or so earlier), "No violence." Upon hearing this come from Gaara's mouth, the vendor fainted from shock, but absolutely no one paid him any mind.

Even Temari, Kankuro, and Shikamaru were not expecting him to say this, and they already knew he was trying to be 'a better person'.(And that, evidently, his acting like a better person meant he was acting awkwardly instead of murderously.) "Are you sure?" Temari asked, partially out of concern and partially out of really wanting to hurt Kankuro.

Gaara nodded, but only a little. "I don't want anything ruining your date." He looked back at his brother. "Especially him." Kankuro fumed, crossing his arms much as a petulant child. Again.

"Alright, then," Temari said. "If you say so." She noticed, however, that Gaara seemed to be looking past her.

Gaara walked past her as well, heading towards Shikamaru. He stopped at what would normally be comfortable talking distance, except he wasn't talking. "Yeah, man, what is it?" Shikamaru asked. In response to this, Gaara blinked, smiled, and put up his fist. Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head, a smile on his own face.

Fist bump.

Gaara waved. "See ya round," he said, walking off past Shikamaru. Kankuro followed about ten feet behind, moved only by the sand. He still looked angry, of course.

It was only a few seconds after they left that Shikamaru spoke up again. "Right. Anyway, ice cream."

"Of course!" Temari eagerly agreed, turning to the vendor. Who wasn't there. "Huh?" she asked no one in particular as she looked around for him.

"Must be his break," Shikamaru shrugged.

"I guess," Temari said. A sigh. "I was looking forward to ice cream, too." She was slightly startled by a sudden warmth in her hand.

Shikamaru had grasped that hand, and she was now looking at him quizzically. He was smiling. "Don't worry," he encouraged, "I'm sure someone else at this festival sells ice cream. And I'm gonna make it my mission tonight to find them." The smile became a little flirty. "Want to come with me?"

Temari smiled back, gripping his hand in her own as well. "Sure," she said softly. And with that, they walked off together, the goal of their journey in the back of their minds as they went off in their search, enjoying simply being in each other's presence.

On the ground, the poor vendor moaned softly.

**0-0-0-0**

It was not a common occurrence for Neji Hyuuga to be unable to sleep, but it did happen, and he hated it when it did. Like tonight, for instance. Neji had been in bed for two hours now, and though he was very tired he was utterly unable to even come closer to sleep, nonetheless fall asleep. Perhaps it had something to do with the flashes of blinding pain focusing themselves behind the point directly between his eyeballs. Now he was going to get a drink of water, in some small effort to alleviate those bursts of pain.

_-I cannot believe it's already 10:25.- _Neji thought. This was late for him. For Hyuugas in general._ -I have training tomorrow morning. I cannot be tired during training...Tenten would kill me!- _And considering how ninjas, especially Neji and the gang, trained that sentence should probably be interpreted literally.

His thoughts shifted to other events happening tomorrow. _-I hope Lee will turn out alright,- _he thought. _-That crazy fool. Going so incredibly far...and then dancing on top of it. What is wrong with him?-_ He shook his head. _-I worry about him sometimes. Most of the time.-_ And, because he was in private and no one could see, he allowed himself the privilege of chuckling.

His thoughts shifted again to events from earlier that day. _-Naruto,- _he thought. He'd heard the basics of what happened (who hadn't on the Hyuuga estate?) but wasn't quite sure of exactly what was said or its result or anything. He'd heard things, but not from Hiashi. So he had no way to confirm. All he knew for sure was that there was a half-pulled up heart of flowers on the front lawn. _-I shouldn't think you the fated one for my sister,-_ he thought, still believing at least partially in fate, though partially not in it as well. Such a strange paradox, the human mind. _-But the way she acts around you...I am uncertain. I suppose it does not matter. From what I understand, Lord Hiashi has given you no permissions to see his daughter.- _He stopped in his walk momentarily, in order to place his hand on his chin and think a little. _-At least, that is what I have heard.-_

"Hee hee hee!" Neji heard coming from a nearby door. Hinata's room.

He blinked. _-Is Lady Hinata having trouble sleeping as well?- _He shook of this thought with good old fashioned logic. _-No...she wouldn't be giggling then...rather, she would be tossing and turning in an attempt to fall asleep. Perhaps she is dreaming?- _He shrugged mentally, taking another step away from the door. _-At any rate, it is none of my business.-_

"And then," came a yellow spiky-haired voice, "We were fighting this huge clam thing!"

_-Naruto?- _Neji froze in his tracks. He turned on his heel, staring at the door to Lady...to Hinat...to his cousi...to his _sister's_ room, acutely aware of the fact that _there was a boy in it several hours after she had claimed to go to bed._

"Yeah, so we...with the...cannons..." Naruto's voice continued, though now more muffled, as if the boy had remembered he needed to be quiet.

"Oh my...that's..." Hinata's voice, though muffled, was actually louder than normal. This was also worrisome.

Neji blinked at the door a few more times, an expression of horror on his face. _-I may not be certain how I feel about Naruto,- _he finally managed to think as he turned, and began to run in a direction quite different from that of the nearest sink, _-But I do know how I feel about him being in Hinata's room at this hour...and furthermore...- _His eyes narrowed. _-I do know what my duty is. I must tell Lord Hiashi!-_

**0-0-0-0**

At approximately the same time, Temari and Shikamaru were having the time of their lives, though no one would call what they were doing 'exciting'. They had spent an hour or so trying to find some more ice cream and not minding at all that it took so long. Then, once they had finally gotten it, Shikamaru had made the fateful suggestion.

"So I was thinking," Shikamaru said, "What say we take these ice cream cones, get out of the city limits, and just lay down somewhere and look up at the stars?"

"Oh, please," Temari rolled her eyes. "How did I know _that _was coming?" As she said this, she grabbed Shikamaru's hand in hers again as she walked, a little faster than normally, to the city's exit. There, they had found a nice tall sand dune.

And they stared up at the stars, with the light of the festival shining below them, as they ate each and every bite of their cream of ice. They both intended, without actually saying anything, to leave as soon as their delicious dairy treats were gone, and yet both stayed without objection when their serving actually was. And talked. And identified constellations. And spent an hour and a half or so just doing nothing in particular, and not wasting a second.

Shikamaru checked the moon. "What time's the festival end?" he asked the perfect being lying next to him.

Temari looked at the absolute charmer young man lying next to her. "About ten-thirty." She smiled. "Short and sweet."

"That should work," Shikamaru said. "And the fireworks?"

"Just after the festival's lights go-" Temari began, only to be cut off by the gradual darkening of the lights they were looking down upon.

"Perfect timing," smirked Shikamaru, reaching over and drawing a now doubly-startled Temari into his embrace. She blushed for a few moments before slowly wrapping her own arms around Shikamaru and drawing him a little closer before looking back up at the stars. The fireworks would be starting soon.

Shikamaru looked at Temari, confused for just a second. _-She's been so affectionate tonight, physically. At least for a first date.- _The hand-holding had not been the top on the list of things she'd done, either, though none was as blatantly boyfriend/girlfriend as holding hands. He tilted his head to the side a little bit. _-Why's she suddenly so nervous?-_

What Shikamaru did not realize (at least, not at that moment, though even in years to come he only had guesses) was simply that Temari actually was still a little apprehensive about their age difference, though she really didn't want to be. Thus, all the extra touches she had shown Shikamaru were rebellions against her inner doubt, which she felt was dragging her down.

But now? Now she had genuinely forgotten about the difference. Now, when she remembered, it didn't matter. She'd had too wonderful a time tonight to care about a three-year difference, even if that difference meant Shikamaru was just twelve during this wonderful night. Thus, any feelings and touches she felt and did were now genuine, and unexpectedly enough, they scared her a little.

But gosh-darn it, lying here in Shikamaru's arms was too _-Nice.- _Temari thought. _-Really nice.-_ The girl considered for a just a few seconds falling asleep like this, but decided that probably wasn't a good idea. And that the fireworks would wake her up anyway. _-Fireworks,- _she reiterated in her head, looking once more to the night sky. "Here they come," she whispered in absolute excitement, somehow just _knowing _that they were about to happen.

They happened indeed.

The sound of explosions echoed around them and even through them as the stars made new companions, companions that appeared in the night sky and then disappeared again as if they had someplace they desperately needed to be. Like in the couple's hearts below them, because both the Leaf Chunin and the Sand Genin lying below the quick-stars treasured this moment so very much and so very desperately that they doubted they could ever forget it.

Shikamaru leaned over to his girl. "Watch carefully," he whispered during a pause in the shooting of the celebratory shots.

Temari remembered. _-He gave some sort of order to that man at the fireworks counter,-_ she thought. She stared at the sky more intently than she ever had. _-So...is this it, then? Something about tonight's display he wanted me to...-_

She suddenly sat up, while Shikamaru smiled despite the fact Temari had let go of him, for a bolt of light had suddenly burst into a multi-colored message written in heart-felt words across the sky. "I love you, Temari," Shikamaru whispered, reading the message aloud.

**0-0-0-0**

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Lord Hiashi bolted upright in bed. He blinked as the thumping continued. _-Who could that be at...10:33 PM?-_ he thought, looking at the clock on the wall. He sighed, stepping into the slippers he kept below his bed. _-It's always so much earlier than you think it is at night...- _he grumbled mentally. He grumbled literally, too, but there were no distinct words that one could claim he grumbled as his thoughts.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. "Lord Hiashi!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," mumbled the elder of the Hyuuga clan, reaching the door. "Neji?" he asked, looking down at the boy before him. He looked panicked. Neji Hyuuga never looked panicked, and that is what snapped Hiashi from his sleepiness and made him worried about what was going on. "What is it?"

"Lord Hiashi," Neji breathed, rapidly. He seemed tired, and more than just physically. "Something is horribly wrong." He swallowed. "It's Naruto."

"Naruto," gasped the elder. His face twisted with the rage that was beginning to build within him as he began to grasp what was happening. "What about Naruto?"

"He's in Hianta's room, sir!" Neji cried, just as worried as his uncle was. "He-he's-"

"What is he doing to my daughter?" cried Hiashi in anger and fear, loudly enough to wake up several estate members and alert even more guards.

"They're just talking right now...I think," Neji said, even at this point not being able to drop the logical procedures of his mind. He hadn't ruled out genjutsu, after all.

"Then there's still time," breathed Hiashi, a pained expression on his face. "GUARDS!" he shouted, running past Neji, who was pushed aside by his uncle.

"Lord Hiashi!" the branch-family member cried after his uncle, chasing him. _-I can feel it...the wheels of fate turning.- _The young man thought. _-But what for?-_

**0-0-0-0**

Temari stared up some more at the sky, completely blanketed by the works of fire. They spelled her name. Her name and a message that someone loved her. Loved her like _that_.

"Temari," Shikamaru said, sitting up as well. For the first time in a while, he looked completely serious. "Don't ask me how I know, but I do. I know that you..."

Temari eventually managed to tear herself away from the display above her head, looking towards Shikamaru. "I?" she prompted, short of breath and mouth slightly open.

"...you are my one and only," Shikamaru finished. "I meant every word I put up in the sky, in the deepest way possible.." His eyebrows creased. "And if you wanted me to for any reason at all, I would tear each and every word down to the earth with my bare hands. I'd find a way, Temari, because those words are true. And that means I'd do anything for you." He slowly reached out and brushed her cheek, smiling a little. "I love you, Temari. With all my heart."

Almost before the last word proceeded from his mouth, Temari shot her arms forth, grabbing her boyfriend by the collar of his jacket and bringing his lips forcefully to hers in an expression of passion she quite honestly had not expected to feel that night. Electricity formed, or at least, seemed to form between their lips, powering the two up; transforming them, sending their hearts into erratic beats. In the background, the heartfelt fireworks finally dissipated, falling down to the ground. But their image would be seen by the two below every time that they looked up at the night sky.

Not right now, though. They weren't bothering to check the night sky now, because they were too busy. They were too busy having their first kiss.

**0-0-0-0**

"That's quite a story, Naruto," Hinata said, giggling a little more. "I'm glad I got to hear it."

"I'm glad I got to tell it," Naruto replied. "I mean, every time I tell you a story, I get to spend some time with you, right?"

Hinata giggled, though nothing Naruto said was particularly funny. It just made her happy, was all. "I'm glad I get to spend time with you, too, Naruto."

Naruto grinned. Time to take pleasure in Hinata's blush again! "Yeah," he said 'obliviously', "I hope I get to spend a lot more time with you in the future. Heh, maybe I'll even spend the night here tonight!" Hinata did indeed blush at this. Naruto resisted the urge to giggle.

Then, with suddenness and without warning beyond any event in this story thus far, the door to Hinata's room flew inwards, slamming up against the wall. Hiashi stood in the hallway, flanked by approximately a dozen guards.

"Father," Hinata whispered, as Naruto slowly stood.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Hiashi said, barely-restrained anger in his voice. "You are trespassing. Leave the premises at once, and never come back. Otherwise, I will use force to remove you."

Naruto only responded after several seconds. A determined smirk. "Bring it on," he softly said.

**0-0-0-0**

It was a half hour after the incidents written above that Temari and Shikamaru walked back up to the door of Temari's house, Shikamaru with a visible hickey on his neck. They stopped at the door. Temari turned to her newfound love. "Well, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome," she said, and Shikamaru smiled a little. He liked that nickname, joking though it may have been. "I guess this is good night." She titled her head. "Sure your jutsu can get you all the way back home?"

"As long as I use it before these fireworks go out," Shikamaru responded. "My parents are probably sitting up waiting for me, so there'll be a light on at my house to create a shadow, too."

Temari giggled. "Cool." She turned her body to the door, still looking back at Shikamaru. "Well...good night again."

Shikamaru stood on tiptoes and placed a kiss on his future fiancee's cheek. "Good night," he responded, smiling. Temari smiled too, and he turned and walked away.

Temari opened the door and stepped inside as he did so. Yet she did not shut it. "Shikamaru," she finally said, softly, but between fireworks, so it was heard anyway.

The shadow-nin stopped and turned. "Yes?" he asked, having no inkling of what was coming next.

Temari hesitated. Then, turning: "What exactly made you fall for me?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. As they went back to normal, he blew out a puff of air. "Tough question," he said, scratching the bridge of his nose. "I guess..." He paused for a second. "I guess it's because most girls, or at least most girls I've met, manipulate you and your emotions and actions every which way you turn, and then suddenly forget how to do so in battle." He smiled, looking his girlfriend in the eye. "You're the exact opposite. And even then, you only _try _and manipulate me in battle." He smiled some more. "Not to mention that you're pretty cute and sarcastic, too."

Temari giggled yet again. It was mostly what Shikamaru said, but part of it was endorphins left over from her and Shikamaru's kiss. "Well, then," she said, sounding much happier. She was happier, actually, because she knew she was unique in at least one way among all the girls Shikamaru knew, and that's why Shikamaru appreciated her. "I suppose that answers that."

Shikamaru smiled. "So what attracted you to me?" he asked. He'd wanted to know that since long before he'd even met Temari, timeline-wise.

Temari looked thoughtful herself for several seconds. Finally, she shrugged.. "I dunno...I guess it's just because I _can't_ manipulate you in our matches," she smiled. "You're just a mystery to me, Shikamaru. And I want to know what happens when I solve you." She looked around, now, as if afraid someone might see her. Then, blushing: "And you really now how to make a girl feel special, too. You're a sweet guy, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru smiled a small smile. "I see," he said. "Thank you." Then, waving, he turned. "I'm glad I got to see you tonight, Temari."

"Yeah, you probably won't get to see me anytime soon, huh?" Temari asked, leaning her body against the door and her head against her hand.

Shikamaru turned again, this time back to her. "Yeah," he said, almost apologetically. Then, actually apologetically: "I'm sorry."

"Well, then," smirked Temari. A playful smirk. She slowly reached up and grabbed the inner edge of her kimono, agonizingly slowly pulling it down as she said her next words in a very sultry tone of voice: "What say I give you a little something to remember me until next time?"

"Guh...guh...what?" Shikamaru heavily blushed as he startled back slightly, eyes wider than they'd ever been.

"Hee, hee, hee," Temari giggled, letting go of her robe before she got anywhere near the 'good stuff'. "Joking. Just joking. Don't worry." She waved to her beau as she shut the door. "Have a good evening, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome!"

Shikamaru stayed frozen in that position before slumping. "Oh, wow," he groaned. Then, bursting out laughing: "She actually got me! I can't believe that!" And, still laughing, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadow cast by one of the last fireworks illuminating Temari's house.

**0-0-0-0**

The guards cam rushing in the room quickly. "HYAAAH!" screamed several of them, and all of them activated their Byakugan.

They all stopped in their tracks.

"Huh...what the?" one of them finally said.

"Where did he go?" asked another, utterly confused.

Hiashi blinked, confused at their confusion. Hinata reacted similarly. "He's right there!" the 'old man' shouted, indicating the twelve-year-old who, indeed, had not moved an inch.

The guards looked around after looking where Hiashi indicated. "Wh-where, sir?" One of them finally asked.

Immediately after asking this, he was suddenly tossed over Naruto's shoulder, flying into the chair Naruto had just been occupying and sending both him and the chair tumbling over. The rest of the guards reacted with due astonishment.

"What the-"

"Holy cow!"

"What's going on?"

Another one of them fell, this one having his feet swept out from under him. Then another aimed for where he guessed Naruto would be after the tripping and found his spear shoved back into his chest, sending him flying away quite nicely.

"He's blocking the Byakugan somehow!" a guard shouted immediately before being knocked over with a kick to the head. Not much power behind it, but properly applied.

"Nice job figuring it out so quickly!" Naruto shouted as loudly and sarcastically as possible before quickly and silently moving to another location. Because it was dark in the room and light in the hallway, the guards had much difficulty seeing Naruto even with their apparently-now-limiting Byakugan deactivated.

Hiashi looked on with increasing anger and frustration (for they are two slightly-different emotions) as his very well-trained guards were repeatedly sent reeling, never heavily injured but always humiliated, by a rookie Genin who was legendary for being bottom of his class. Hinata watched the same situation with a much different set of emotions. _-Naurto...- _she blushed, heart beating faster and faster as she observed.

"You morons!" Hiashi was not normally that abusive to his, erm, employees, but tonight he was worried about his daughter. "I'll do it myself!" And he began walking towards Naruto, as the guards all-too-gladly and very sheepishly moved away from the boy.

"Lord Hiashi, please," Naruto said. "Don't do this."

"Turn on the lights, Hinata, so that he may not hide within the shadows any longer," Hiashi said, bending into his Gentle Fist stance. There was no response. "Hinata! Do it now!"

"Y-yes, sir," Hinata cried, reaching over to the lamp on her bedside drawer. _-I'm so sorry, Naruto.-  
_

_Click._

Naruto was finally revealed to those there, same blue eyes, blonde hair, and orange ensemble as always. The strange thing about his appearance, though, was the large amount of green dots speckled randomly across his face and hands, and presumably across the rest of his body.

"Oh my..." breathed one of the guards, dropping his spear. He took a step backwards, shaking his head. "There's no way!" he cried, taking another step. "No way!" The other guards, and Hiashi, and Hinata, and even Naruto, were looking at him now, their mild confusion at what was on Naruto's body replaced by major confusion at why the man was reacting this way. (Except for Naruto himself, who knew the reasons for both these things.) "He's a monster!" the man outright shouted, pivoting on his heel and running for the sake of his soul. "A demon! Run for your lives!"

And his unhinged screaming continued well out of hearing distance. Everyone looked in the direction he'd left in for several seconds. _-What on Earth?- _thought Hinata, blinking. She turned back to her crush. _-Why would he be so scared of Naruto?-_

Hiashi turned back to the Naruto next. "You. Boy." He narrowed his eyes. "What are those...stickers all over your body?" His offensive position shifted slightly now that he could clearly see his opponent. "Some kind of chakra enhancers?"

Naruto closed his eyes, grinning and chuckling. "Actually, they're pretty much the opposite. They're chakra stoppers."

There was a long silence.

"Chakra...stoppers?" Hiashi finally gasped, eyes widening as he slowly began to wrap his mind around how Naruto had manged to enter the estate without any guards seeing.

"Yep," said Naruto, placing his arms behind his head. "They're usually used for medical purposes, you know, redirecting your chakra in emergencies, or for operations, and stuff like that. But I swiped some of them and used 'em to plug up my own chakra so I could sneak in without any of the guards seeing me, 'cause I figured they'd all be using their Byakugan to look for intruders." He grinned a little more, obviously proud of his plan to enter the Hyuuga grounds. "Let me tell you, it took forever to meditate long enough to find out where my chakra was without that Byakugan of you guys's!" And he laughed, loudly.

Hinata's hands were placed over her mouth now, and she was frozen in awe. The guards were frozen, too, in fear. Hiashi as well, but he didn't know with what. Finally, he moved, letting gravity cause his arms to fall while he slowly unbent his back. "How many?" he asked, voice shaking.

"Hmm?" Naruto asked.

"How many did you have to place on yourself to stop the flow of chakra in your body?" Hiashi confirmed, clutching his fist.

"Oh!" Naruto said, understanding. "Well, I wasn't sure how to close off my chakra points to make none of them flow, and even then, there are alternate paths that could spring up..." he truthfully explained. Then, with a smile, the coup de grace: "So instead of just blocking off the flow like a dam, I pinned all my chakra points down so none of them were very active!"

"None of them?" Hiashi cried, stepping back. Most of the guards did more than just back off a step; they ran, screaming things similar to the first person, who obviously had knowledge of the 'stickers' before Naruto explained what they were. Even the guards that did not run away backed up pretty much to the doorway, looks of barely-controlled fear on their faces.

"That's...insane..." Hinata whispered, far too shocked to act surprised.

"Let's see...there's three-hundred and sixty-one chakra points in the body, right?" Naruto thought. "So I'm wearing three-hundred and sixty of these things right now!" He grinned. "Yeah, I'm sure at least one of your guards could see me, but with only one point of chakra visible and their Byakugan on all the time I'm sure they thought I was a butterfly or something!"

Another silence, tension so thick you _couldn't _cut it with a knife, as the knife would break. Despite how he was acting, Naruto was the most nervous: he had unveiled the workings of his plan, and now he could only hope that things would go according to it.

Hiashi finally stormed over to Naruto, drawing the boy up almost but not quite to eye level by his collar. "That's impossible!" he shouted, more out of astonishment than the anger he wanted Naruto to believe he was feeling. "There's no way you really did all that! You shouldn't be able to move!"

"I already told you," Naruto whispered, smirking up at Lord Hiashi, who actually stopped in his emotional flurry and simply stared at the boy, intently listening. "That I would protect Hinata with everything I had. And I still will, even if you don't want me to. I'm trying to prove that to you now."

"Wh...what?" Hiashi asked quietly, his heart beginning to somehow simultaneously rise into his throat and sink into his stomach.

"The one point I don't have shut off," Naruto said. His smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Use your Byakugan. See where it is."

Hiashi stared at Naruto for a few more minutes, mouth slightly open. Then, as if just hearing the orange-clad ninja's words, he closed his mouth, looking down at Naruto's body. "Byakugan," he said quietly, as his Kekkei Genkai activated.

"That's right," Naruto said quietly, but with as much determination as ever, as he smiled some more while Hiashi looked suprised. "Right over my heart." He shook his head. "And that's not trying to say to you that I'll die or kill myself if you don't let me date Hinata or something," he looked straight into the Hyuuga elder's eyes as his Byakugan faded. "It means that as long as I love Hianta, I will go this far for her. As long as I love her, I will use every bit of my strength to protect her...even just to make her happy." He smiled a little more, eyes closing. "That's what a good boyfriend does."

_-Naruto...my boyfriend...he really is!-_ Hianta slowly smiled, wishing desperately to rush over and kiss the living daylights out of one Mr. Uzumaki.

Hiashi's hands were shaking now. "Why?" he asked, voice cracking. "Why would you do this?"

"I already told you," Naruto said. "To prove to you what I'll do for her. To prove I always keep my promises. That's my ninja way, after all." He smiled yet more, eyes fluttering. "And by proving that, I prove that I do love Hinata, because...that's what love is." His head nodded, and his voice became quieter, but the determination did not leave his voice, nor the smile his face. "Wanting and doing the best for somebody...and wanting to want to and do so. And this...what's happening right now...proves that as long as I have...a drop of chakra left...a single heartbeat...a single breath..." His eyes slowly shut, carrying Naruto into unconsciousness brought on by exhaustion, "I will always love her."

There was another silence, one of shock, of awe, and of disbelief. Finally, it was broken, by a slow rhythmic sound coming from the elder Hyuuga. "Father?" Hinata began, "Are you..." but found she could not finish.

Hiashi Hyuuga let off a great sob, accentuated by many smaller ones, as his tears flowed freely and unchecked down his face. "Naruto," he said, voice strained with regret and agony. "I'm sorry...I didn't believe you..." And he slowly moved removed his hands from Naruto's collar and to the young man's back,drawing the unconscious Genin into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Naruto...I'm so sorry..." And he sobbed and cried some more, tears falling on the blonde mess of hair.

Meanwhile, from just around the corner of the doorway, Neji listened, face as stoic as usual. "Impossible," he mumbled., for Naruto had done the impossible. He had done the physically impossible by sealing off those chakra points and seemingly suffering no loss of skill as he snuck into the Hyuuga Estate and past several dozen guards, and the managed to stay conscious afterward for several hours while talking to Hinata. He then performed the equally-as-impossible task of not only changing Hiashi's mind, but making him cry. "There's just no way."

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Hiashi sobbed out again, sinking to his knees and desperately wishing to make Naruto hear what he was saying. "I'm so sorry..."

Neji slumped slightly against the wall, trying to wrap his mind around this strange sequence of events. "I don't understand," he said, unable to accept this paradigm-shift. "How?" He closed his eyes. "How?"

And with this thought and many similar ones, he stood up again, walking away from the door and back to his bedroom. "How?" Going to attempt to sleep again, because he felt he needed it. Maybe he'd actually get some sleep before the morning...hopefully so. "How?" It would certainly help clear his head.

**0-0-0-0**

Shikamaru slowly opened the door to his house. It was about midnight now, and not a light within the house was on. He'd had to settle for a shadow cast by a nearby dog lying underneath a street lamp. A cramped exit, but it made due. Scared of punishment, or even just a lecture (though also feeling that if he _did _receive one, it would be worth it), Shikamaru looked around as if he could see anything. He tiptoed into the house, quietly shutting the door behind him.

A light clicked on, revealing a livid pair of parents, his father in a chair, and his mother in full-on lecture mode. _-Oh boy,-_ he thought, mentally preparing for the worst.

"Where have you been?" shouted Yoshino. "Your father and I have been worried sick about you!"

Shikakau slowly stood. "And what _exactly_ have you been doing with this girl you mentioned to us that takes over twelve hours to accomplish?"

"Well, you see," began Shikamaru,

"What exactly made you think it would be okay to stay out this late?" his mother continued her lecture, for hers and her husband's questions, at that current point in time, were rhetorical. "Do you have any idea exactly how long past your curfew it is?"

"And don't even think about the 'I was on a mission' excuse," Shikaku spoke up again. Almost like he and Yoshino had planned the whole thing out. "We already checked, and not only did you not receive a mission today, you got the whole day off." He raised his eyebrow. "For 'personal reasons'."

"Well, are you able to share your personal reasons with your parents too, Shikamaru?" Yoshino asked, now sarcastic rather than rhtetorical. "Do you think maybe you could tell us?"

"I-I just..." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, eyes darting around. They darted back to directly before him but past his parents a few seconds after darting there once, and his face scrunched up in confusion. His mom and dad, knowing by virtue of having memorized the entire layout of their house exactly where Shikamaru was looking, shared a suddenly scared glance at each other, then looked with apprehensive nervousness at their son. He looked up, saw his parent's shocked and slightly ashamed faces, and decided it was his turn to scold. "Mom...dad..." he emphasized his words, placing his hands on his hips. "Why is the dining room table broken?"

* * *

Once again: go Shikamaru's dad. Bow chika wow wow.

You know, I think I made the words I used in my writing more varied in this chapter than ever before, but the pacing of the chapters seems off. Maybe it's just me? I hope it is, anyway.

Also, never let it be said (especially in this fic) that Naruto can't come up with good plans. Remember, kids: if you're girlfriend's dad forbids you from seeing her, break into her room and wait for her dad to discover you so that you can impress him with your commitment. Heh, some plans are only good in fictional worlds, huh?

...also. Omake.

**OMAKE #5**

Though it's not anywhere near a perfect match, Kankuro and Gaara's banter did remind me of a scene from a certain Disney movie, and I wish to non-canonically express that reminding here. Please enjoy this little alternate scene, for it may be even more out-of-character than the last one.

**0-0-0-0**

"Come on**, **Gaara," Kankuro begged, hands clenched together. "You've got to help me! It's for the good of everybody!"

Gaara shook his head, feeling annoyance rather than anger for the first time in his life. He didn't like that feeling. "How do you figure that, Kankuro?" he asked reluctantly.

Kankuro walked back over to the edge of the roof, motioning for Gaara to follow. With a sigh, the younger brother did. "Look at them. So blissfully ignorant." Kankuro said.

"Ignorant?" Gaara repeated, still not getting what Kankuro was driving at.

Kankuro shook his head. "I can see what's happening."

Gaara blinked. "What's happening?" he asked, turning to his brother.

Kankuro threw his arms outward in exasperation. "And they don't have a clue!"

"What?" Gaara blinked, looking back and forth between the dating pair and his brother.

"They'll fall inlove," Kankuro finally explained, throwing his arm around Gaara's shoulder as he leaned close to whisper: "And here's the bottom line: our trio's down to two!"

"...I may not know much about Temari," Gaara responded after a few moments, "But I know she wouldn't run away from the village just because-"

"Zee sweet carezz of twilight!" Kankuro chose to ignore his brother as he let go, walking away and gesturing wildly with his most sarcastic voice. The french accent was just the cherry on top.

"Kankuro, are you feeling alright?" Gaara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There's magic everywhere," Kankuro spit out, spreading his hands.

"Have you been standing in the sun in your black suit again?" Gaara asked pointedly, desperately searching for an explanation.

"And with all this romantic atmosphere," Kankuro sincerely said, taking a sorrowful look at his sister.

"I'm leaving now, Kankuro," Gaara spoke up over his brother, walking back towards his sand platform.

"DISASTER'S IN THE AIIIIIIIIIIR!"

**0-0-0-0**

...I just realized that I must really like the idea of romantic messages written in strange ways. We've got lights, flowers, and fireworks...huh. I seem to like glowy messages, too. Sorry, I'll try and cut back in future chapters.

Speaking of future chapters: hope to see you next time, when (finally) the next member of our group comes back to the past! Until then, good reading and God bless!

Note: Omake is Timon and Puumba's part for 'Can you Feel the Love Tonight?'...or at least Timon's. You know, for the one or two of you who didn't already know.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey, a quick question...why are clouds white or grey when water is clear?...then again, I suppose I could just as easily ask 'why is milk white when grass is green', so perhaps that question is one best left unanswered.

Erm, anyway. Hello! AProcrastinatingWriter here with yet another chapter of No Regrets this Time Around! And, finally, we reach the next day...and if things go as planned (Which they almost never do in my head), this day should only last two chapters, counting this one, though both should be moderately long ones. Also, the last person to remember what's going on will not do so tomorrow, this-story-time-wise. If that last butchering of words makes any sense.

Well, whether it does or doesn't, sit back, relax, and watch as our next contestant has perhaps the greatest difficulty yet in adjusting to his new surroundings. Here we go...

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**GETTING A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO PROPERLY DISCIPLINE YOUR MAN**

**

* * *

**Sunlight. Early morning. Phenomenally bright. And every single beam of solar energy in the world seemed to strike Neji Hyuuga directly in the face. The boy slowly woke up, morning-person status not coming into play quite yet. Then again, considering how Neji usually acted, there wouldn't be that much difference even if it never did. Still, today would probably be an off day for him. Nights when he forgot to close the curtains generally led into bad days.

_-What a strange dream,- _Neji thought. He smiled a bitter smile. _-Would that it were real.- _And with this, he slowly sat up in bed. A few more seconds passed.

Neji suddenly blinked, wide awake now. _-Wh-what?- _he gasped out within his head, for he had just realized exactly where he was. He looked to the left, then to the right. Then downwards. Particularly at his now-existent left arm. _-What?- _he repeated mentally, still unable to really form coherent thoughts.

What his eyes were seeing (and the lower half of his body feeling, his old bed being rather hard, if only in comparison to the kind of bed Tenten liked) was simply impossible. Should not exist. Illogical. Troublesome, did not compute, freaky, any number of synonyms and similar words! Yet here he was. Awake and alive, as Neji had been only partially expecting after that blast. And back in his old house, which he most emphatically had not been expecting.

Several seconds passed.

"What?" Neji finally said aloud.

**0-0-0-0**

Neji walked around the estate in what most people would call a daze, though in reality his mind was racing at many upon many times the speed it would normally move. Neji whipped his head from one sight to the next, looking around at the various buildings and people there as if they were fifth-dimensional constructs in an alternate universe he had accidentally been transported into by eating a rice ball made of wood. Only _more_ so.

"Excuse me, sir," Neji finally managed to calm down a little, and speak up to one of the nearby elders of the estate. Not disallowed, but not necessarily smiled upon, and something the normally-withdrawn Neji would never do. Or, rather, almost never.

The elder knew the boy would never do this, and thus was surprised enough to avoid being angry at having his morning walk interrupted. "Yes?" he asked, turning to what some might later call the head of the Branch Family.

Neji's frown deepened, as did the crevice formed by his brow. "Were..." he momentarily paused, aware that his next question would make him sound insane, and perhaps prove that he actually was. Still, he had to know: "Were...was the...was the Village attacked last night? At all?"

The elder blinked, slightly confused. "Not that I am aware of," he tilted his head, just the slightest bit. "Why do you ask?"

Neji was silent for a few seconds, mouth open perhaps a crack. He suddenly snapped out of it. "No reason, sir. Very sorry to bother you."He bowed. "I wish you a good day, my lord." And he turned, walking off, face set in its usual stoic features.

The elder stared after him. _-That boy worries me sometimes,- _he finally said, shaking his head before returning to his usual morning route. _-I can never quite read him.-_

Neji continued walking, headed towards approximately the center of the Hyuuga estate in his wanderings. _-I don't understand,- _he finally managed to think clearly. Though he had yet to straighten things out within him, so he still seemed confused. _-Everything is different from it should be like. Everything is as it was...ten years ago!- _ He shook his head violently, still walking. _-Think. There has to be an explanation.-_

"Hiyah!"

"Guh!

Neji turned his head to the left. The training grounds. Hinata and Kiba were sparring. He raised an eyebrow. _-If memory serves, and I'm not sure if it actually does, shouldn't they be practicing outside the mansion?-_

Kiba rushed towards his opponent. "Fang Over Fang!" he shouted, spinning around wildly.

"Arr..." Akamaru, currently Man-Beast-Cloned, joined him, the master and pet twisting round and round each other. The ground underneath them was destroyed as they rushed forward. Of course, they'd slow their speed before hitting Hinata, so as to not hurt her, or at least not hurt her badly. Hinata, looking worn out but otherwise relatively unharmed, took a few deep breaths. She moved downward, then sprang up, flipping backwards. Kiba and Akamaru passed under her harmlessly.

Now both of Neji's eyebrows were raised. "My word," he softly said.

"Good morning, Neji," Shino said, sitting on the sidelines. "How are you doing today?"

Neji stared at the previously unnoticed hive-man for several seconds. "Fine," he eventually answered. He glanced back at Hinata, but just for a moment. "Somewhat confused, though."

"Hinata has been practicing very hard lately," Shino responded, misunderstanding exactly what Neji was confused over. "Her fighting technique has improved exponentially." He looked up to Neji, or at least, Neji thought he did. It was hard to be certain with those sunglasses. "Especially since the last time we sparred," he said, hinting.

Neji picked up on the hint, as both ninjas did not flinch, as a stray Fang passed very near them. "Byakugan!" he cried, activating his family's special power. He examined Shino for several moments. "Several of your chakra points have been blocked off."

"Mostly inconsequential," Shino said, turning away again. "Merely a little tiring, for me and for my insects, who require my chakra to live. Don't worry," he said, as if Neji actually was. "They can survive until my chakra points reopen. Technically, they could survive even if the ones that have been sealed off never opened again."

"I see," Neji said, hearing every word but not really caring all that much. He watched as Hinata practically danced around Kiba and Akamaru's attacks, iron determination across her features.

"It would simply be harder for us than usual," Shino finished. Then, jumping straight into the next part of the conversation (he seemed almost as confused as Neji was): "Did something happen to Hinata last night? She has been more determined lately, but today..."

"Huh?" Kiba shouted, loudly, as he and Akamaru stopped in their tracks. They looked to each side, behind them, and in every other direction they could think of. "Where did she go?"

"Umm..." Hinata's voice came from all the way behind him, at the other side of the training area. Kiba had obviously overlooked her when looking around the first time. "I-I'm over here..."

Neji blinked, hard. Admittedly, Kiba had forgotten to smell for Hinata, but still, she was standing directly in front of Kiba and Akamaru and the Inuzuka pair had managed to somehow lose track of her movements. "...today she is performing exceptionally well," Shino finished, sounding a little startled himself.

"I can see that," Neji said quietly. He continued watching the scene before him, still wrapping his mind around the situation. _-This is absolutely bizarre. It's almost as if...- _His eyes narrowed. _-Is that even possible?-_

Now knowing where his target was, Kiba grinned. "Alright then, if you're going to be that slippery, I guess me and Akamaru have no choice but to surround you!" He turned to his double. "Right, boy?" Akamaru growled his agreement, and almost instantly afterward, the two slapped their hands together, then moved into a crouching position, very low to the ground. "Fang Over Fang!" Kiba called yet again as each of them formed into a whirling tornado of teeth and claws.

Hinata's eyes narrowed, now. "Byakugan!" and with these words, before the power even activated, she leapt up off the ground, twisting her body around and into the air. Kiba passed below her and Akamaru passed above her as her x-ray vision activated, her hands lashing out at whatever chakra points she saw as she completed her front flip.

"Oof!" Kiba cried, landing on the ground at the same time as Hinata, but not nearly as gracefully and stopping his spin much more quickly.

"Arf!" cried Akamaru, turning back to normal as he fell down, too.

Hinata looked regretful and worried as soon as she landed. "I-I'm sorry!" she cried, turning her head back and forth between her two injured friends. "I-I didn't mean to! It w-was an accident!"

Neji's eyes widened even further than they already had. _-That was an _accident_?-_

"She's been like that all day. On edge," Shino explained while Hinata continued apologizing to the slowly standing Akamaru and Kiba. "She's supposed to just be improving her reflexes, not using them to fight back." His eyebrows slanted downwards now. "To be honest, I don't think her reflexes need improving one bit. They're already quite deadly."

Neji looked back at his bug-bound friend, while Kiba grumbled. _-She made all those injuries without even thinking about it?- _ He blinked again. He shook his head, his headaches from last night coming back as more and more memories began to slowly pile up and contradict each other in his mind. _-Urgh...I need to get alone somewhere. I have to sort things out in my head before I talk to anyone else.- _

Before Neji could leave, though, a guard rushed past him, panting heavily. "Lady Hinata!" he cried, obtaining the attention of everyone in the general vicinity.

Hinata breathed in slightly. This was obviously the news she had been waiting for. "Wh-what is it?" she asked, barely loud enough to hear. Kiba looked at her oddly, smelling the apprehensiveness wafting off her like perfume. Somewhat bad-smelling perfume.

"It's Naruto!" the guard cried. "He's waking up!"

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Hinata loudly shouted, suddenly rushing past the poor guard, Shino, and Neji, who she pushed over onto the ground, through a nearby window, and into a wall respectively. It was very out of character for her.

Neji peeled himself from the wall, rubbing his now doubly-sore head. "Well, then," he grumbled, a little angry but trying to be understanding. "That was unpleasant."

Shino climbed back into the scene, looking disheveled. "Did you say 'waking up'?" he asked the guard, who was getting up, in mild surprise.

Kiba stopped next to the guard (for he had been walking over, musing over how unexpected this turn of events was) when he heard Shino's question. "Wait," he slowly said, his face gradually turning to one of horror, surprise, and disgust, as the pieces came together in his mind. "That means...that twerp spent the night here...with Hinata!"

"No," the guard said, finally making his way to his feet (he would have been up sooner, but he was tired. Up all night on guard duty and called to action at least twice and all.). "Naruto fell unconscious, and Lord Hiashi ordered for him to be allowed to rest in our finest bed, and under our finest care-"

"What?" Kiba interrupted as Neji slowly blinked, stirring up the patterns of his consciousness. "Naruto's...well, what the heck happened?"

"I must say," said Shino, looking oddly at Neji, "I am curious as well." For more reasons than he let on.

"Well," began the guard, giving exposition as Neji walked off (watched by Shino), intending to leave the estate and take a stroll. Clear his mind and all that jazz. "You see, yesterday, Naruto and Hiashi met to determine whether or not the boy should be allowed to court Hinata or not..."

**0-0-0-0**

-Hrrm.- _growled a certain creature of destruction and evil,. _-I sense an unfamiliar presence.- _The Nine-Tailed Fox opened its eyes, gazing out into the mindscape of his host. "Show yourself," the fox growled. "Though I may not like it, this brat's body is still my home, and any intruders are unwelcome here."_

"_Heh, a brat, am I?" chuckled a very familiar, yet not familiar at all, voice. _

"_What?" the Fox gasped._

_The voice chuckled again as footsteps were heard. "As you wish, O great Nine-Tailed Beast! I shall show myself." That mocking edge to the voice, though, that was definitely familiar. And with that familiar voice came a familiar visage as Naruto Uzumaki, the demon container, stepped out into the light, sending ripples and waves across the ankle-deep pool of water that was constantly there within his mind. _

_The great Beast was silent for several moments. "This is impossible," He glared at the figure. "You are not Naruto Uzumaki?" And though what the creature said was a statement, his tone of voice made it sound more like a question._

"_Oh, but I am," said the figure. Once again, the mocking nature of his voice was Naruto's and he looked and sounded like Naruto, but not perfectly. The main difference was that this Naruto looked older...wiser...better dressed. "What's the matter, demon? Are you scared of me and my newfound inner power?"_

_The Kyuubi stepped back in his cage. He hated to admit it, but this imposter's words were correct. He was an imposter, wasn't he? He had to be. This man emanated an aura of undeniable courage, and of strength even greater than a Tailed Beast. Much greater, grander, and more mature than the twelve year old rookie he had toyed with by giving him some small amount of power. "I refuse to believe it...you cannot be..."_

"_Well, I am and I'm not," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "I am Naruto, but not the one you knew and know." He shrugged. "I traveled back in time accidentally. So, though I'm twelve years old again physically, I'm more like twenty-two mentally." He grinned that grin the Fox _hated_. "So from now on, Foxy, you're gonna be my new pet!"_

_The demon's eyes narrowed dangerously. Even if this new Naruto was more powerful than he, a Tailed Beast had his pride. "You believe I would ever serve you?" And he threw back his head and laughed, mocking. He stopped as a great windstorm, powerful enough to push him back several feet, blew through the hallways of Naruto's subconscious. "GAAAH!" The wind cut into the Fox, dealing him the first pain he'd felt in many years._

_Then, gradually, the wind subsided. Naruto looked, almost contemplatively, at the ground. Finally, he looked up again. "Not really," he smiled. Not grinned. Not smirked. Smiled. "At least not yet." The young man turned away from the cage. "I'm not certain, but I think it might be time for me to wake up now." He looked back. "See you again soon." _

_And in less than the blink of an eye (for the Fox was staring unblinkingly at the boy)he was gone, leaving another trail of ripples in his wake. The Nine-Tailed Fox stared after Naruto for several minutes, shaken by this turn of events. "Impossible," he repeated. Over and over again._

**0-0-0-0**

"Naruto?"

"He really is waking up!"

"Back up, guys. Give him some room."

Naruto blinked his eyes open slowly, still feeling tired despite his little nap. It was a nice bed he was lying on. Soft, but not so soft it felt like there was nothing there supporting him. He slowly turned his head to the left as a medical ninja walked over to the Genin and began to take his pulse. "Hey, guys," Naruto said a little weakly to the three figures in the room he actually recognized, who appeared to be uncertain if they could believe what their senses were telling them or not. "Did I miss anything?".

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted happily, the first to snap out of shock (which had been brought about by the tension and anxiety in the room leaving so very suddenly). Then, without the smile leaving her face: "You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?"

"So this was your big plan, Naruto?" asked Sasuke, smirking, for he had no doubts Naruto would be just fine. Just, perhaps, not quite this soon. "Why am I not surprised?"

"I have to say, young man," said Kakashi, who was obviously done with his mission, "That was one of the stupidest things you've ever done." He closed his eyes, and his smile was visible even behind his mask. "You have no idea how very proud I am of you."

Naruto grinned. "Well, what else would you expect from me? When I go, I go all out!"

"His vitals appear to be stable," said the medical ninja, withdrawing the IV Naruto hadn't realized was even attached to him and placing tape upon the bandage Naruto hadn't even realized was in his arm. "Now all he requires is bedrest, and a lot of it." The medical ninja turned to the non-medically-trained occupants of the room. "Hopefully Lord Hiashi and his daughter shall soon receive the good news."

"I hope so," Sakura agreed.

"Mm-hmm," Kakashi nodded.

"Me too...I suppose," Sasuke said, cool as ever.

"At any rate, I need to talk with Lord Hiashi personally," the man said. He looked back at Naruto. "I will return shortly. Do not leave this bed. Understood?"

Naruto giggled softly. A hand raised, thumb up. "Crystal clear."

A two-second pause. "Somehow I doubt that," the man said a little wearily as he walked away, the four other people within what could now be considered a guest room watching him as he took his leave.

Naruto breathed out a sigh. "Man, oh man," he shook his head, not sure exactly why he was so relieved that doctor had left. Perhaps simply because he wanted to be with his friends. Speaking of his friends: "Gah!" Naruto cried as the Copy-nin and the pink-nin were suddenly right next to his bed. The shadow-nin stayed back, of course.

"So how are you feeling?" asked Kakashi.

"Can I get you anything? Some ramen, maybe?" Sakura offered.

"Think you'll be up for training again tomorrow?" Kakashi wished to know.

"Oh, I'm gonna have to buy a ton of flowers with both you and Lee in the hospital today!" exclaimed Sakura, still smiling.

"So what are you planning to do next," asked Sasuke sarcastically, "Cliff-diving, perhaps? Or maybe try some venomous blowfish?"

"Anyway, Naruto, if you're not feeling up to things-" began Kakashi.

"Hey, now, come on," interrupted Sakura, having heard her sensei just fine and not caring, "There's no way he should be training now, don't give him ideas-"

"No, no, you're right," Kakashi said.

"But anyway, Naruto," Sakura continue-

"Well, on second thought..." Kakashi relented to himsel-

"Now wait a second, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura slightly growle-.

"So if I understand this correctly," Sasuke interjec-

"Hey, hey hey!" Naruto finally shouted, waving his hands around for attention. He managed to get it, too, being Naruto and all. "I'm okay, everybody! Really! Cross my heart and hope to die!" He sighed again, slumping slightly, smile looking very weary on his face. "I just need a little bit of space right now, is all."

"Right," said everyone, a little embarrassed, backing up several steps.

Then, before anything else could happen: "NARUTO!" Everyone turned to the door to the room. The one who had shouted was there, looking absolutely pleased as punch. Hinata, of course, panting slightly and sweating. It was a moderate run to Naruto's temporary room, and she'd run it much faster than she usually might.

Sakura smiled again, always a sucker for romance and sweethearts. "Hinata! You've heard the good news?" Sakura asked.

Hinata didn't bother answering her. "Naruto...I'm so happy you're alright!" And she stepped into the room, then began to dash forward.

Sasuke was suddenly between Hinata and Naruto, a very serious look on his face. Everyone started a little. "Sasuke...what are you doing?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Sorry, Hinata," Sasuke deadpanned as he shrugged, "But Naruto has requested that everybody give him lots of space." He smirked as his voice became extra-mocking, "I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."

BONK!

"SASUKE, YOU IDIOT!" Sakura yelled, fist clenched. The same fist that had just impacted Sasuke's head, sending him crouching down in agony, bump rapidly forming atop his cranium. Hinata looked on, feeling awkward, while Kakashi blinked at (once again) how everything had gotten turned around and mixed up as of late. Naruto, of course, was laughing like crazy. Sakura's mood flipped, perhaps the only thing unchanged about everything happening today. "It's okay, Hinata. I'm sure Naruto would love to see his girlfriend right now."

Hinata absolutely grinned as she didn't even wait for Sakura to move aside, rushing past her and to her love. "Naruto!" she cried once more as she practically glomped the blond. The three onlookers cheered in friendly jest as Hinata, uncaring, pressed her head into Naruto's chest.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto smiled, hugging her back. He was actually a little tender and thus Hinata's overenthusiastic hug hurt a little, but he didn't care in the slightest. "How's it going?"

"I'm so happy you're alright, Naruto," whispered Hinata, loosing the grip of her hug and moving up to look him in the eye. She smiled at him for a few seconds, blushing a bright red, then slowly leaned in, closing her eyes, and pressed her lips against his.

_-She kissed me,- _Naruto thought happily. Not necessarily at the kiss itself, though that was very nice, but rather what that meant for Hinata.

A second passed, and the lavender-eyed girl brought her lips back, resting her forehead against Naruto's own and letting herself get lost in his big, beautiful, blue eyes. "I love you, too," she said softly, tightening her grip again, but just a little bit.

"Hee, hee," Naruto chuckled. He tightened his grip a little as well, staring her in the eyes and grinning like a loon. "I'm glad to hear that, Hinata."

Everyone watched this scene in silence, now, taking it in. It was an important moment, after all.

Sakura suddenly started, then looked at her hands, confused. _-Wait...did I just punch Sasuke?- _Her face fell. _-Oh, nice job, Sakura! You REALLY ARE the queen of screw-ups, you know that?-_

**And here I was calling _Sasuke_ an idiot...I feel like such a heel! **her inner lamented.

**0-0-0-0**

_-Alright, then,- _Neji began going over things in his head as he came upon the eventually-realized goal of his walk through town: the Village hospital. And, mentally, to finally sorting out all his memories into their proper places. _-All the evidence would seem to suggest that after Madara was defeated, we were all sent back in time somehow.- _He looked up at the sky for a moment. _-Today is the day after Lee was supposed to have surgery performed on his spine and leg. However, thanks to our mucking about in the past, events have already changed slightly, for better or for worse.-_

A thought suddenly struck him, and Neji chuckled a little, genuinely smiling. _-Well, I suppose I can safely say that even if Fate exists, its decision-making process can be influenced.- _Neji was serious again as he looked back at the hospital. As far as he could tell from his recently-rearranged memories, his teammates would all be in there, and one would be under the influence of anesthesia in just a few minutes or so. Surgery. _-I wonder...I hope...will Lee survive this time around? Are his chances just as good now, or will something go wrong?- _His face caved inwards. _-And Tenten. What about Tenten?-_

He paused.

_-What do I do?-_

Another pause, and he clutched at his left arm. It was a very strange sensation to be able to move it. Just a night or so ago it had been removed, violently. It was back again.

_-Just like Tenten.- _Neji thought absently, continuing to stare at his upraised arm, elbow bent inwards as he walked towards the relatively large building. _-She is just as much a part of me as this arm is.- _He flexed his fingers. _-Certainly, even if everything else goes just as wrong this time, I can dodge one attack? Prevent one attack?- _He dropped the arm and all pretext of caring about it, looking straight forward at the doors of the building where his destiny and hers would collide once more. _-Surely I can stop her from dying?- _Neji's weakness, though no one would ever guess it, had always been second-guessing himself. _-Can't I?-_

He thought for a moment, pausing before opening the swinging doors. _-What would Naruto do in a situation like this, I wonder?-_

He stepped inside the hospital with barely another thought. _-He'd save her, of course. No questions asked.- _So he stopped asking questions._  
_

**0-0-0-0**

It had been several minutes since Hinata had burst in the room and, of course, she hadn't let go of Naruto yet. Quite the opposite in fact.

While Naruto talked with his two best friends and sensei, Hinata laid her head back within the comfortable crook of Naruto's neck, smiling softly in absolute bliss as Naruto gently pulled her body in close with one arm, then gently stroked the back of her head and neck with the other. She wrapped her arms around him once more as he continued talking to his team like nothing at all had changed about his or her position.

"So, yeah, every good ninja needs to know how to sneak around, right?" Naruto asked everyone in general. Sasuke looked back from paying attention to his friend as he heard a soft thumping behind him. "Oh, that reminds me! Kakashi-sensei, later on I'd like to stop at that one shop down on Gild Street..."

Sakura was not paying attention either, instead preferring to stand with her back turned to Naruto and his stories and punch herself repeatedly in the head. This was what was causing the soft thumping. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" she murmured, emphasizing each and every individual whack.

Sasuke stared for a few seconds before sighing. _-I'm probably going to regret this,- _he thought as he walked over to his...erm...acquaintance. "Sakura?" he asked, trying to sound genuinely concerned. He was genuinely concerned, but he always had had trouble expressing it.

"Oh, hey, Sasuke!" Sakura said, faking nonchalant cheerfulness as she turned rapidly to face him. "How's it going?"

Sasuke blinked once, then sighed. "Sakura, you..." he shook his head. "Honestly."

Sakura chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess I am pretty silly, huh?"

"A little, yeah," Sasuke grumbled.

Sakura sighed. "So, um, anyway..." she blushed a little. "About last night-"

"What is up with you anyway?" Sasuke interrupted, blushing a little. "First you kiss me, then you punch me? Why would you do that?"

"Oh, well, uh...I don't know, okay? I just...I just..." She twiddled her fingers, because everything they were both saying was awkward and more than likely not the best thing they could say. "I just really wanted to kiss you, is all..." she finally murmured.

Sasuke started. "What?" he softly asked. He knew that already, sure, but he wasn't expecting Sakura to outright admit that fact.

"I know, you weren't ready for it," Sakura said regretfully, "And I knew that even before I kissed you, but I just..." she paused, then bit her lip. "I let my emotions get carried away with me sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Sasuke smirked.

"All the time," Sakura admitted. "I fawn over you every time I see you, and I just can't stop myself from socking Naruto one whenever he says something stupid," she scratched behind her head, "Or you too, apparently." She looked up at her...there wasn't quite a perfect word to describe her and Sasuke's current relationship. "Can you forgive me?"

Sasuke frowned for a moment, pretending to consider. But in the end. "Yeah, sure." Of course he could. He'd done far worse in the past; how could he start judging Sakura now?

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke," she blushed. Then, happily: "You're the best boyfriend a girl could ask for."

"WOAH THERE!" Sasuke cried, forgetting everything important that was going on in his haste to clarify exactly what Sakura was to him. "I never said anything about b-being your boyfriend!" Sasuke really hated it when he stuttered.

Sakura giggled. "Well, when you're ready to start being one, I can definitely kiss all the hurt away, if you'd like," she flirted to mess with him.

"Oh no you don't!" Sasuke resisted, stepping backwards. "You're not going to seduce me again!"

A long, long silence. From everyone in the room. Hinata actually lifted up her head from Naruto's neck., and Kakashi actually managed to look more startled than Sasuke did, which was a feat in and of itself. "Wait..." Naruto was at a loss for words. That alone was an indication of how awkward the situation was. "Did..." He scrunched up his face. "Did you say 'seduce'?"

"And 'again'?" Kakashi squeaked, all too aware he was going to have to explain to several angry parents and ninja and Lady Tsunade and Shizune how he allowed this to happen under his care.

Hinata frowned, confused. "Umm..." she began softly, but did not get very far before Sasuke piped up.

"Wait, that came out wrong!" he shouted, turning. And blushing, of course. Even harder than Hinata usually blushed. "Very wrong!" _-Come on, man, where's that usual calm and cool demeanor of yours?-_

"There was a right way for that to come out?" Naruto shouted, finding his voice again.

"Alright, you two," Kakashi, in his sternest voice, placed his hands on his hips, "What exactly were you both doing while I was gone yesterday?"

Sakura was blushing as well, and very concerned that her maidenly purity not be tainted by any unfounded rumors. She also felt like pounding Sasuke in the head again. "It's _really _not what it sounds like!" she desperately claimed. "All we did was...Sasuke was practicing with his kunai-"

_-Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?- _Kakashi asked himself, worry pounding against the corners of his mind as very very wrong and even more unwanted mental images began filling up his imagination.

Thankfully, before any other easily-misconstrued statements that supported Sasuke's slip of the tongue could be uttered, the door opened, revealing a stern-looking figure, and a large one at that. He raised his eyebrow at the goings-on in the room, getting the feeling he was missing something. "Is there something going on here I am not aware of?" Hiashi asked, just a hint of confusion in his voice.

There was a silence. Hinata, still not having had 'The Talk' with her dad, and therefore not knowing the full extent and meaning of the word 'seduce', and therefore not being nearly as stunned as the rest of the room's populous, spoke up first. "Father!" she cried joyously. "Naruto is awake!" It was an obvious statement, but Hinata was too deliriously happy to notice.

Hiashi nodded slightly. "I can see that, and I am glad," he said, "For I wish to speak with the boy. Alone."

Another moment or two of silence. Kakashi turned to the room's other residents. "Alright, you heard the head of the household." His eyes narrowed. "And speaking of personal talks...Sasuke? Sakura?"

"Right," responded the pink and blue ninja in unison, shuffling out to the hall and followed closely behind by their sensei. Hinata was even more reluctant to leave than Sakura and Sasuke were (though just barely, considering the sheer amount of awkward following the 'lovebirds' out the door in the form of Kakahsi), but eventually she tore herself away from Naruto and headed towards the door.

"Hinata," Hiashi stopped her with a word, "I have just remembered something." She turned back to her father, for she had made it out into the hallway before he began talking to her. "I recently brought some clothes I would like you to try on. They are currently hanging up in your room."

Hinata blinked, wondering about her father and what suddenly brought this on. Then she shook her head out of it. The order may have been an implied one, after all, but it was an order nonetheless. "Yes, father," the girl said, bowing, before walking off in the direction of her room.

Hiashi looked at the spot his daughter had been standing in for a moment before closing the door. He faced Naruto, who was now lying back, though not all the way, upon the cushy bed he had been given. "Hey, old man," he said, grinning. "Thanks for letting me stay in this bed. It's really soft!" Hiashi did not respond, merely walked over to the Infiltrator of Estates. "Hey," Naruto said worriedly after a few more moments, for Hiashi looked...off. "Is something the matter?"

"Naruto," Hiashi breathed out. "I'm so sorry."

The no-longer-orange-clad (for it is not very comfortable to sleep in a bed with your jacket on) ninja boisterously smiled. "I know," Naruto said, as if Hiashi had already said this to him a hundred times before (which he basically had), "I heard you."

Hiashi smiled a small smile.

**0-0-0-0**

Neji was always good at thinking speedily, and had learned over the course of several years how to start thinking ahead.

_-The goal,- _he said to himself as the receptionist walked down the corridor, that would lead to Lee's room, _-Is to let the timeline remain relatively unchanged, if at all possible. You were able to woo Tenten and repay Hinata and your team for your crimes once before, but to do so twice when you have no idea exactly how you did it the first time...- _He breathed out through his nose. _-At any rate, it shall be difficult, acting near-precisely as you did the first time.- _He smirked in lament. _-It will be especially difficult acting precisely around Tenten considering the fact that you have already been intimate with her and that she doesn't remember.- _Now he couldn't even fake bravado as the next thought burst into his head: _-And that you'll be going through puberty yet again. We can't forget that.-_

"He should be right in here," the nurse said, Neji following directly behind her.

"Thank you very much," Neji bowed. Prim and proper and unshakable, that was him, and he was glad for it. He entered the door, going over his battle plan one last time within his head. _-Here we go.-_

"Neji? Man, you're late," Shikamaru said.

Neji stopped and blinked. Well, _this _hadn't happened the first time. "What are you doing here?" he asked Shikamaru. And also Shikamaru's teammates.

"We were concerned," Shikamaru shrugged.

"Concerned?" Neji repeated, just ever so slightly behind.

"We're here to see how Lee's doing!" Ino shouted. "Why _haven't _you been here?"

"Seriously," Choji said. "I admit I didn't know how badly the guy had it until Shikamaru told me, but even so I managed to get here before it was ten minutes until time for surgery!"

Neji almost took a step backwards. Almost. "Lee is not..." he reflected for a moment on how to best phrase his answer. "What I mean to say..."

"It is alright," came a voice from a hospital bed. "Neji is here on time to support his teammate, and that is all that matters."

Shikamaru and his friends stepped aside, and Neji's breath caught in his throat. "Though I still think you're cutting it just a _little_ close," Tsunade, the surgeon and pre-operation counselor glared down at Neji from next to the bed.

Neji wasn't really listening, or even paying attention to his Hokage. Because, there was Might Guy. Looked like he hadn't aged a day in ten years. "Neji, I would have thought you more responsible than this," Guy said. He fought back manly tears. "When Lee is...when you get up each morning, bright and early, to train your body to the fullest, and Lee is just waiting for you to come support him in his hour of need!"

"Please forgive him, Guy-sensei," Lee was there too. Lying in bed. Not like him. Not like him at all to ever take a rest. He had already surpassed 'Guy-sensei' in stamina by this point. The possibilities were endless as to where he could go in the future. "Everyone has their off days, after all. And if he has truly done wrong, cannot he make it up later?" He thought for a moment. "I know! Neji Hyuuga, once I am better, you will join me for 500 laps around the Village!"

"You know, Lee," Oh, heaven, "Not everyone has your demonic stamina." Tenten. Flashes of memories. About half were extremely _good_, but the other half? Neji was struggling to not lose balance, or to break down then and there. Alive. She was alive and real and there and he knew this was going to happen so why was he panicking and oh gosh he was panicking-

"Hey, Neji, are you okay?" Ino asked, suddenly not angry with him because she noticed Neji was, well: "You're kind of alternating between normal looking and really pale."

"Yeah," Choji said, furrowing his brow, "And you're kind of...staring."

Everyone was looking at Neji now. "He looks kind of feverish." Tenten slowly said. "Neji, are you sick?"

"And that's why you were so late getting here!" Might Guy underwent a revelation. More tears were subsequently fought back. "And yet, despite your extreme infirmity, you were willing to drag yourself from bed and hide your ailment in order to come here and provide much-needed moral support for your teammate!" With a great gasp, Might Guy began bursting out in sobs, tears flowing down his cheeks.

As did Rock Lee. "I am truly touched by your devotion to me, Neji! I am sorry for ever doubting you!"

"Relax," said Tsunade, who had crossed over to Neji and placed her hand on his forehead. "He has a fever, but it's a very mild one. He's perfectly fine."

"Fine...yes...of course..." Neji murmured, grabbing Tsunade's hand and shoving her lightly aside. This was surprising, to say the least. After all, it was Neji Hyuuga. Unflinching mass of stone Neji Hyuuga, who always respected his elders. Pushing aside Lady Hokage rather distractedly. Lady Tsunade herself and Shikamaru were just as surprised as everyone else, but for different reasons.

Neji slowly walked over to his team. Very slowly, with an astounded look on his face. "Um, Neji? What's up?" Tenten was usually able to take things in stride when they got strange. In this case, she recovered first.

Neji actually walked past her, surprising himself. He looked down at the hospital bed, onto a confused Lee. Five minutes till surgery, now. "Lee," Neji finally said. "Lee, you're...you have to get better." His voice was cracking with emotion as he said this, shaking his head. "I can't stand to..." Then, as everyone gaped, he turned to his teacher and Team's leader. "Guy-sensei..." he laughed. "Always willing to bet we'll go the extra mile...always going the extra mile for us...I just don't want you to..." then, finally, he turned to his future wife.

"Neji, what's wrong?" Tenten asked him, stepping forward a little

The young man with the eyes beyond compare was breathing very deeply."Tenten..." Neji managed to say, lip quivering just slightly. He slowly reached out, gently placing his hands on her cheeks. "Oh, gosh, Tenten..." he choked out. Tears, true and genuine tears, began spilling from his eyes, leaving a trail of sadness down his cheeks. And yet, despite this, Neji smiled. Widely. "I..." he paused to gulp and compose himself, yet as he kept talking... "I had...I'm so glad to see you...I had..." his face collapsed as he slowly pulled Tenten into a desperate hug, sobbing into her shoulder. "The most horrible dream..."

"Oh, Neji," Tenten said motherly-like as she gently stroked his hair, hugging him back. She seemed genuinely worried, and calm, and comforting. Everyone else was shocked at this turn of events, as Neji continued his heartfelt sobbing. "It's okay. It was only a dream. Shh, shh, don't worry. It's all going to be okay."

Shikamaru and Tsunade shared a conspiratory look as Neji laid his feelings bare for all to see.

**0-0-0-0**

"You know, you really do look beautiful in that dress," Naruto said, wearing his orange jacket again. He'd have changed clothes himself if he'd had the option.

"Y-you really think so?" Hinata asked, grasping his hand. She was wearing a modest but very pretty blue dress, and a sunflower in her hair. Speaking of flowers, to the right of the strolling lovebirds, a certain patch of pink, orange, and purple flowers was being replanted.

"Yeah. Your dad has really good tastes, Hinata," Naruto smiled. "It's kind of surprising, actually."

Hinata giggled. "W-well, it's a little m-more revealing than I'm u-used to," Hinata stuttered, for it really was revealing if one were to judge by the standards of her usual attire, "B-but if you like it, N-Naruto, I'll t-try and wear it more often."

"What's with the stuttering, anyway, Hinata?" Naruto asked playfully, knowing the answer. "I mean, you seemed just fine back there when you were cuddling me..."

"Naruto!" Hinata cried, blushing, as she giggled.

"I mean," Naruto continued as their voices faded into the distance, for they were getting further and further away from the estate. Hiashi was watching their progress from out the window, and a ninja's hearing is better than most's. Still, Naruto's voice was getting quieter, as said before. "You stutter when you hold my hand, right? So you should stutter more if you try and snuggle with me right?"

They were out of hearing range now, but not out of sight. Especially not sight of the Byakugan. Hiashi smiled as he watched them go. Memories floated down the stream of his consciousness, unearthing old emotions from the river's bed. It was surprising how many parallels could actually be drawn between the young Hokage-aspirant and the elder of the Hyuuga clan's younger days.

"Lord Hiashi!" came a voice from the door. A voice of a medical ninja Hiashi recognized very much.

The not-so-stern man turned. "Yes?" he asked, as if he didn't already know what was coming.

The guard paused for a moment. "Lord Hiashi," he repeated, "How could you let that boy be up and around in his condition? Sir, I specifically told you-"

"You are aware of how Naruto received his injuries, correct?" Hiashi asked, stopping the good doctor's rant in its tracks. Hiashi smiled a little wider. "Then what makes you think I could have possibly stopped him?"

"A-are you serious?" asked the medical-nin. He was lucky; a less progressive leader than Hiashi might have had him punished for questioning his superior's word.

"Relax," Hiashi suggested. "He seemed fine to me." The robed man looked back out of the window. Naruto and his daughter were out of sight, and Hiashi had no desire to chase their progress with his Byakugan. "That boy is something else."

The medical ninja shook his head. "This is not a good idea, my lord," he advised desperately. On more accounts than one.

Hiashi caught the hidden meaning. "When Naruto comes back, see to it he is treated as if he were my own son." He looked back to the incredulous servant, a look of (he could hardly believe it himself) pride upon his face. "He just might actually be my son someday."

A few moments of stunned silence. "As you wish, Lord Hiashi," the medically trained ninja bowed, sensing that there was no more room here for argument. He left, marching down the hallway.

"And tell Lady Tsunade not to worry about those chakra-stoppers," Hiashi called after him. "I'll see that they're paid for." And with this semi-order, semi-parting shot, Hiashi looked back out the open window, letting the smell of the flowers beneath the window wind gently up to his nose.

He felt happy for the first time in a while. A bit startling, that.

* * *

Well, that a real flip-flopping emotionfest, wasn't it? I was just all over the emotional spectrum in my writing today!

Well, anyway, I suppose some of you have noticed that the guard was called, yes, twice to action last night. Well...yes he was. That's not an error on my part. That's simply how it was. Whether or not I determine what happened is important to this fic at all or whether this plot thread goes nowhere, we'll see.

In the meantime, it's November as I post this, and only the second day. I hope all had a safe, sane, and scary Halloween, and that only the first two of those adjectives apply to your Thanksgiving. Though, considering most family reunions, that might be a bit much to ask for. Oh well, at least I tried.

Have a good day and God Bless! And please let me know if there's any way at all in which you think my writing could improve. Thanks.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, a quick question...why don't the carpet manufacturers make extra-thick carpeting, so one can go around their house barefoot and enjoy how soft the carpet is?

Uugh...hey there from a mildly exhausted AProcrastinatingWriter, with the much-delayed chapter nine of No Regrets this Time Around! Really, this chapter should have been done between two and four days ago, so what kept it? Well, nothing serious or very much personal, but I'd still rather not talk about it. At any rate, I'm finished now, and that's what's important...right?

A very serious note before I continue:if you are reading this author's note, please also read the one after this chapter once you are done with it. There are very important words written there concerning some writing I may have fumbled. (You mean like usual? Ha ha!) And the consequences, if I truly have badly written a certain part of this chapter, are going to be a lot worse than 'this character is OOC'. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I'll explain more, once again, at the chapter's end.

Well, despite that ominous warning, I hope that it will please you to enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE**

**SNEAK, SNEAK, SNEAK  
**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO SEE PAST THE INITIAL LAYER**

* * *

It is the duty of a shinobi to never show emotion, no shinobi had ever managed to fulfill his duty since the very first, and it could be very plainly seen that Neji Hyuuga was no exception.

Neji's momentary breakdown was like an sudden explosion: powerful, effective, and unexpected, but instantaneous, leaving no trace of itself once it was gone. Only the things left destroyed by it to give witness to its existence. But then, perhaps it was a nuclear explosion, a small one, for there was fallout.

Tenten sat in the chair next to Neji in the hospital waiting room and held his hand gently, smiling and encouraging the young ninja in a way that made his heart tremble with joy. Still, he appearance was emotionless again, and seemed none the worse for his lapse. Yet somehow, his being perfectly normal now seemed to make the situation all the more tense for everyone else in the room. And things were tense enough already, what with Konoha's 'Handsome Devil' going under the knife at the moment.

So there they all sat, Neji with his eyes closed and slightly frowning. The 'correct' expression for his face to have. Tenten was smiling, talking to Neji enthusiastically, and he might occasionally respond with a grunt or a movement of the head and shoulders. Everyone else just kind of stared.

Shikamaru, of course, was staring for different reasons. _-Neji seems wildly different, and that can only mean one thing.- _He thought for a moment. _-Well, it could mean more than one thing, yeah, but only one thing seems likely.- _He chuckled to himself. _-Look at me. Considering 'time travel' to be the most likely option in any situation Pretty sure I've finally gone absolutely insane. Either that or everyone else has. I'd accept either answer.- _His mind began to wander into deeper subjects. Anything to avoid thinking about...things. _-I wonder, if everyone else is insane, and you're sane, does that make you the insane one?- _Shikamaru would swear he could almost hear Lee being cut into. His face cringed for a part-second. Deep thoughts on philosophy were pretty darn useless when your friends were in danger.

Neji had regained control of his emotions, and was thus able to watch the watchman. Halfway obviously, too, what with the veins sticking out all around the young man's eyes. Still, when people lacked that power themselves, it was hard to conceive of someone observing anything with their eyelids closed. _-Everyone is staring at me. I cannot say I blame them. But Shikamaru's body language seems __more relaxed than the others. He has spasms, moments when his muscles tighten, but they are always right after he glances in the direction of the operating room. That means he is more concerned with Lee than he is with me.- _His eyebrows raised slightly. No one noticed. _-As he should be.- _A pause in his thoughts to better imagine what was going on in the operating room. Not much to imagine, considering he could see through the walls of the hospital. _-I hope you pull through this, Lee.-_

"You agree with me, right, Neji?" Tenten perkily asked, keeping her mind moving quickly. Just like everyone else, she didn't want to think about exactly what was going on right now with Lee.

Neji opened his right eye, looking at her without defenses or feints for just a moment. He then closed it again, grunting in response to something or other Tenten said about shopping and how it was really annoying and how she'd been dragged to some shop or another called Fashion Central this one time but had at least managed to get some new weapons out of the deal and wasn't that mace with the spikes coming off of its spikes a cool weapon and gosh darn it he had heard every word she'd said when he was trying to concentrate on people besides her.

Might Guy was perhaps most concerned of all the people there. Say what one might about him, none could ever claim he did not care for his students. Probably more enthusiastically than he should, however. _-Lee is in surgery,- _the sensei thought to himself. A few seconds of silence. _-Neji has fallen apart right in front of me.- _Some more wordless thoughts, certainly not empty ones. _-And Tenten's trying to keep everything together.- _He shook his head a little, sighing. _-And I don't think I can do a thing about it. I don't think I could even if I actually knew what I should be doing.- _The sigh became deeper. _-Some sensei I am.-_

_-What am I supposed to do?- _thought Ino. _-What do you say to someone in a situation like this?- _The possibility Lee might not get through things stayed firmly implanted in the back of her mind, held there by her frantic and worrisome thoughts of what to say to Lee once he did wake up. Would he be depressed? Optimistic? Looking for encouragement? Angry? _-I don't know what to do...- _Her thoughts were beginning to loop back in on themselves.

And then, everyone simply descended into an introspective silence. Tenten's smile finally dropped as she looked at Neji, waiting and waiting for any response, any acknowledgment at all, besides the occasional monosyllabic sentence. She had the most horrible feeling she was waiting in vain. Ino's mind skipped back and forth between her own problems, which she was trying to think about, and Lee's, which she wasn't. And, of course, Tenten, Neji, and Guy were on pins and needles for their teammate's sake, and felt they had no defense if they were to fall from their precarious position. A gloom was across the group, and a heavy one at that.

Suddenly, a gurgling noise was heard. Everyone, with a blink, turned to its source. Chōji blinked down at his stomach once, then scratched his cheek, sheepish. "Sorry. That was my stomach." He patted his great balloon-like belly a couple times. "I guess I'm a little bit hungrier than I thought I was, huh?"

Another few seconds of silence, and then suddenly everyone burst out laughing (except Neji, who merely chuckled). The spell of somberness that hospitals always seemed to put upon a person, for good reason or otherwise, had been broken. Suddenly, everyone felt a lot better about Lee's chances of survival.

Everyone relaxed now, and looked a little more open to discussion. Still nervous for the outcome of course, but also very much more at ease than one coming back in from their leaving, say, ten minutes ago, would ever expect. Also, Chōji was able to get some snacks from a nearby vending machine, and that always improved his mood.

**0-0-0-0**

"So, then," Kakashi smiled down at his students. "Have I made myself clear?"

Sakura looked visibly disturbed, pale, and shaking. Sasuke had long ago placed his head in his hands, pressing his fingers into his ears and wishing for the first, last, and only time in his life that he had chubby fingers so that he could block what Kakashi was saying. "Clear as crystal," both Sasuke and Sakura miserably said, the edge of their sanity cutting deeply into their voices.

They had tried to protest at first, telling Kakashi it was a misunderstanding. And, against all odds, he had actually believed them and every word they said...once they got calmed down enough to tell him rationally, that is. But he didn't believe them when they told him they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, and so, like any responsible adult, he decided to inform them of exactly what they could and could not do as boyfriend and girlfriend under his care while they were still this young.

_Exactly _what they could and couldn't do. In _vivid detail_.

Sasuke, being twenty-two of age mentally, was rather unaffected by the descriptions in and of themselves, but the fact that they were coming from Kakashi Hatake somehow made them ten times as disturbing and sorrowful. But then, of course, came the coup de grace; a girl sitting next to him, whose cheeks had somehow managed to turn pinker than her hair. She was, of course, only twelve mentally. Perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less. But no matter how you looked at it, though she might have been prepared for some of this information, or perhaps even all of it cut up into bite-sized pieces, (heck, might have even found it interesting had that route been taken!) she wasn't prepared for this. Honestly, it was kind of hard to be prepared for this. A lot of kind of hard to prepare for this.

In summation: Sasuke was rather miserable and Sakura was rather blank, emotional-wise. Probably traumatized. Definitely wishing she was somewhere else. And Kakashi was smiling. "Glad to hear it," he said, far too cheerfully to actually be a sane human being. "Well, then. Do either of you have any questions you'd like to ask?"

Mr. Long Silence was back, and he had brought along his wife, Mrs. Awkward Silence. They really made quite the lovely pair.

_-No!- _thought Sasuke, trying his darndest to push his mental words down his brain stem and spinal cord, then bring his head up sharply so as to toss them from his mouth and create noise. He, of course, did not succeed. Must have mistimed the turning of his neck. _-We don't have any questions! Not one! Not if you paid me, not if my life depended on it, not if I fell victim to Tsukuyomi and was ordered to ask another question to make the torture stop, a thousand upon a thousand times NO!-_

Mr. and Mrs. Silence had begun to overstay their welcome.

Kakashi happily kicked them out. "Well, if you two curious youngsters _really _don't have any questions," And the copy-nin shrugged, egging his students on, "I suppose our talk is over."

His two students groaned, slumping, as if they were disappointed instead of being the exact opposite. "Thank goodness," Sakura lamented, slowly beginning to recover from her ordeal.

"I thought we'd never get through all that," Sasuke responded.

"Although," Kakashi pretended to think, "Perhaps, for when you get older, I should let you both know about all the different forms of contraception that ex-"

"NO!" Sakura and Sasuke managed to finally cry, standing up as quickly as possible and mentally preparing to run off into the woods. They could survive on berries if they had to.

Kakashi chuckled softly. "Well, then, if you insist," he said. _-Looks like everything worked out just as I expected it would.- _Another chuckle, still too soft to hear. "You are both free to leave."

_-Man, was that ever a nightmare...- _Sakura thought, as she and the revenge-obsessed boy next to her began dragging themselves back to the Village. **Although we did get some pretty useful information... **her inner responded mischievously. _ -Sasuke. Why did you have to use the word 'seduce'?- _

_-Why did I come back to this village again?-_ the young Sasuke thought, a little angry. For once, he wasn't trying to ditch the flower-hearted girl walking next to him, but he probably would have been if he'd been able to think clearly. _-I'd forgotten how weird Kakashi could get. I mean, was he trying_ _embarrass us or some...- _he stopped in his tracks.

Sakura did the same after a few steps. "Hmm?" she asked, almost back to her normal self. Ninjas had quick recovery times from all but the worst traumas. TKakashi delivering the facts of life wasn't quite the worst trauma, though it came close. "What's up, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was shaking with some undefinable emotion. Oh wait, yes it was definable, as both the people nearby were able to tell when he looked up again. "YOU!" he shouted, pointing with anger (aforementioned definable emotion) to a certain mysterious grey-haired ninja.

"Hmm?" Kakashi asked, unfazed. "Who, me?" and he pointed at himself.

"YEAH!" Sasuke shouted. "You did this all on purpose, didn't you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Kakashi, inflected slightly more differently than he usually would.

"You told all this to embarrass us to death, not to put any kind of 'ground rules' in place!" Sasuke threw his hand into the air, the brought it back down quickly, slapping his palm against his side as he said this.

Sakura "eep"ed. "Kakashi-sensei, is that true?" she asked, or rather shouted, because she was angry now too. She very much wished she was taller, so she could effectively whack her teacher upside his head. And she wouldn't regret it, either.

"Heh, heh," Kakashi chuckled yet again, this time making sure that everyone heard it loud and clear. "A little of column A, a little of column B? Is that what they call it?" he false-questioned as his students' jaws hit the floor. "Ah, well, it really doesn't matter, does it?" He turned, waving. "Catch you both tomorrow! Have a good yet-another day off!" He would have found Naruto and forced him to train, too, so that everyone could, but as far as he knew, the blonde boy was still in bed, resting. His other two students looked like they could use a break from reality too, as a matter of fact. Perfect. "I'll make sure to tell you both plenty more the next time I catch you two sneaking around behind my back." And with this, Kakashi Hatake leapt up into the trees and rapidly disappeared from sight, leaving a couple of very shocked and talkless preteens behind him.

They stared after their teacher, guardian, and embarrassment for many moments in which they would later wish they could have spent somewhere else. Not at the moment, though, because at the moment they couldn't really think. At all.

Sakura, being the more intelligent (though only arguably the smarter) of the two, recovered first. "This is all _your _fault, Sasuke!" Also, her inability to resist her bouts of misplaced anger helped.

"Me?" Sasuke shouted right back. "You're the one who kissed me!"

Kakashi, meanwhile, had not actually left quite yet, despite appearances, and was instead watching from a nearby treetop in a different direction, making sure nothing funny was going to happen in his absence. "Yeah, well, you're the one who had to go and tell everybody about it!" Sakura defended herself. Quite well, actually.

_-Ah, young love,-_ Kakashi thought, entranced in thoughts of Spring.

**0-0-0-0**

Down the hallway, a door creaked open. The group of six, five concerned friends and one concerned father-figure, looked up from their conversing. The worry was back in full force, and the few seconds in between their looking up and Tsunade exiting the doorway seemed to stretch on into infinity's furthest length and depth.

But after the foreverspan, and a little more, Tsunade exhaled the breath she had been holding. A smile slowly formed on her face as she turned to the group. "Great news, everyone," and several people smiled themselves, knowing what was coming. "Lee is going to be just fine!"

A great cheer went ringing up the hallway. Quickly pursued by Might Guy, whose monstrous speed could almost actually catch up with that cheer. "LEE!" he cried, overjoyed.

"Woah, there, big guy!" Tsunade stopped him with her palm, laughing just a little. "Lee is fine, but he needs rest now. And a lot of it." She sighed, faking exhaustion while she removed her hand from a now-sulking Guy's chest. "But, then again, from what I've heard and witnessed so far, he'll probably be up and attempting to train as soon as I finish this sentence." Though the nature of her claim was joking, Tsunade actually re-opened the door she had just come from and looked inside again, as if it were suddenly occurring to her that what she was saying might actually be true.

Guy gripped his Hokage by the shoulders. Any other situation, and this would be deemed inappropriate and out of character for him. "So,when do I get to see my protege again,? I have to know!" His neck seemed to unnaturally stretch as he shouted his next sentence. "I HAVE TO KNOW!"

"Okay, then! Guy-sensei?" Tenten grabbed her teacher by the arm, embarrassedly dragging him away from the much-flummoxed Sannin.

"Well, uh..." Tsuande blinked a couple times, then seemed to regain control of her muscles. "Lee should be fine for visitors by the end of the day." The leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves showed her teeth, turning the smile she wore into an outright grin that accessorized very nicely with her surgical mask, now worn dangling around her neck like some great awkward necklace. "You'll all throw another party for him, right?" she asked. Shikamaru noted the awkward change in subject.

While he did that, he also sweatdropped. Everyone sweatdropped. Except for Ino. "That's a great idea!" she shouted, her first complete sentence in nearly an hour. Not her usual level of talkativeness at all. Almost like some chunk of food, tough to chew and impossible to swallow, had been keeping her tongue otherwise occupied for some time. Definitely not anymore, though. "We could invite everyone we know, and put up flowers everywhere, like tulips or maybe lilies or maybe some desert flowers if we want to be exotic, you know what I mean, and then Lee could be the guest of honor and a lucky girl would win the chance to dance with him, and hey, maybe you could participate this time, Lady Tsuande? I mean, after all-"

"Ino! Ino! Ino!" Tsunade cried desperately. _-You know, between her and Guy, I'm starting to wish I were back at the office doing paperwork.- _A pause. _-Weeeell, maybe things aren't _that_ bad yet.-_

"What is it, Lady Tsuande?" Ino asked, as everyone else was 'suddenly' standing a few more feet than usual away from her and her excited nature.

"I was just joking," Tsunade clarified. "Lee's in no position to be dancing at the moment. That's what aggravated his injury in the first place, remember?"

"Oh...right..." Ino said. "Of course!" She turned away. _-Great. I'm losing my opportunity with every single available guy my own age!- _She was, of course, speaking (or, rather, thinking) of her idea, carefully placed in the very middle of her rant and said as quickly as possible, to give Lee as a contest prize to one lucky girl for one dance that night. One very special dance, because Ino was certain that her feminine wiles and beauty would be more than sufficient to turn any guy into a lovesick puppy if they danced with her. Of course, whether she was right or not, the important thing was that she was even considering dating Rock Lee, who (in her mind) was the be-all and end-all of undesirable boys, even more so than Naruto.

Ino lifted her sulking head and saw Shikamaru. He was looking at her, thin eyebrow lifted higher upon his forehead, analyzing her. He was suspicious. And perhaps she was reading too much into it, unconsciously seeking more guilt to add onto the pile, but he seemed disappointed in her. She remembered her promise to give him some time; so that he could get her a boyfriend, and cringed. So, basically, by seeking out Lee, she was telling Shikamaru she didn't trust him. Not to mention the fact that she was basically confirming everything he had said about her and wanting 'a boyfriend', not 'the boyfriend'. And she knew, looking at her shadow-using friend's face, that he knew every bit of that as well.

Of course, this was all simply what _she_ was thinking. In _reality_, Shikamaru was just a little confused about why she was acting this way. He knew Ino was perhaps the most stereotypically teenage of their entire group; seeing drama where there was none and blaming any and all of it on either A) herself, or B)everyone except herself, but what he didn't even begin to comprehend was exactly what she was being so judgmental on herself about. And that was even presuming she was undergoing A right now, like she appeared to be. And, knowing a tiny bit about how teenaged girls think, he decided that he did not wish to know, either. "It's good to hear that Lee's okay," Shikamaru said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, it really is great news!" smiled Tenten, the first really happy smile all day. "I was so worried about him." She looked adorably (_-Stop thinking that,-_ thought Neji) confused and a little worried again, frowning and tilting her head a very large amount to the side, buns bobbing as she did so. "He...is going to be okay, right? I mean, there's no side effects or anything, are there? Please say no."

Tsunade shook her own head, still smiling. "Not a one," a pause Shikamaru noted, "Well, as long as he gets all the bedrest he's supposed to, anyway," And she glared at the door, as if somehow Lee could see this visual warning, or even hear her threat.

"That is excellent to hear," Neji said. Like Ino, this was the first complete sentence to proceed from his mouth in about an hour. Unlike Ino, however, this wasn't out of character for him. What he did next, however, was. A smile, and a bow, and a note of gratitude in his voice. "Thank you very much, Lady Tsunade, for giving my teammate back his life," he straightened, "And for giving us back our teammate." Then, having noticed something in the way his body moved (besides this infernal stiffness in his muscles that made him feel like he was made of stone instead of the gentle breeze he usually felt like) he looked down at his hand.

Tenten was still holding his hand. He stared at it, and she stared at him. Most everyone stared at Neji, who had shown yet another display of emotion. A much smaller one this time, though, and perhaps a bit more understandable than his breakdown earlier. Finally: "Oh!" Tenten almost yelped, blushing and drawing her hand back from Neji's. "Sorry about that!"

Neji's smile grew neither smaller, nor larger. "It's alright," he said. Almost gently.

"Anyway," Chōji said, "Back to the point at hand LAdy Tsunade...we know Lee is gonna pull through and all, but..." He frowned a little, stroking his chin. "How 'well' is he gonna pull through?" Apparently Shikamaru wasn't the only one to notice Tsuande acting a little off.

Everyone looked to the master healer with expectation. Guy most of all, shivering and biting his fingernails. No one was sure why, as Tsunade had already confirmed that things were going well with Lee. So, there was no real reason at all to be scared. Yep. No reason at all.

"Well," Tsunade stopped smiling. "That's a little harder to say. I mean, I know I said-"

"You said he was gonna be just fine!" Ino shouted at her Kage, an offense that might have gotten her killed in some other Hidden Villages. "No side effects!"

"I know I did, and I still think he will be, and I still know there won't be!" Tsunade smiled, eager to console. Still, as soon as she said this, she was back to frowning again and running her thumbnail across her bottom lip, not quite scratching, because there wasn't quite an itch there. "But just because the surgery isn't going to cause any problems in and of itself doesn't mean the recovery won't be difficult."

"Give it to me straight, doc," Guy said, trembling all over. "Is Lee really going to be able to make it?"

"I have no doubt," Tsunade said, still reassuring. Finally, she lay her cards upon the table, and for once in her gambling life wished she didn't have so many trumps. "What my concern is is whether or not Lee is going to be able to become the same ninja he was before."

A long, strong, and very wrong silence spoke its mind at this point, shattering everyone's hearts and minds with its logic and reason.

"But, you said..." Chōji started. A pause. Then, he continued: "This whole surgery was all about Lee getting his life as a shinobi back, right?"

"And he will get it back," Tsunade said, looking away not out of shame or sorrow but simply in contemplation, "What I can't say is to what extent. I don't know..." she sighed. "I don't know if he'll ever be as strong a ninja as he once was."

Another silence. And by everything bright and wonderful, was it ever deafening. "Is there anything we can do?" Neji finally asked, stepping forward a little.

"Don't let him know, first of all," Tsunade said, turning to look at Lee's room. "He'll overexert himself trying to make himself better," she smiled. Then, this occurred to her: "Also, don't let him overexert himself. And for goodness sake," she turned back to the group, standing as befitting a Hokage. "Believe in him. That is an order to all of you: believe in him like you never have before." She closed her eyes, smiling.. "That way, you don't have to worry about him."

"Worry? Who, me? The most youthful and powerful Green Beast of the Hidden Leaf Village?" Guy gleamed, put up his thumb, placed his hand on his hip. "I have never even considered such a thing! Not even for a moment! You can believe that, one-hundred percent!"

A short silence. A lot of those seemed to be occurring lately.

"Guy-sensei," Tenten said, "Your knees are still shaking."

"Wh-what? Of course they are!" Guy asked, startled, then backpedaled. "It's because I'm so excited! Lee is going to recover soon, and he's going to become an excellent ninja! Just like he always wanted!"

"You know," Chōji pointed out, always wishing to help, "He doesn't _have _to be the perfect ninja. Heck, he doesn't have to be a ninja at all." He smiled. "Far as I can tell, he's already proven he can be an awesome shinobi!"

Neji shook his head. "Your words are appreciated, but," he looked at the rotund ninja, "I don't believe we can convince Lee of their truth." _-Or Guy, for that matter,-_ he whispered to himself. A mental begrudging: _-Who knows? Perhaps they are even right?-_

"What's that saying?" Shikamaru spoke up. "It never rains but it pours, right?" He blinked his blink. "Hmm. Well, speaking of rain," and he turned and began walking towards the front doors, "I have a date with a cloud, and since I know Lee's okay,-"

"Hold it right there, Shikamaru," Tsunade ordered.

_-Exactly as I hoped,- _Shikamaru thought. _-I was able to remind Tsunade of our situation without drawing attention to myself.- _Out loud, as he turned, he said a single word: "Yes?"

Tsunade turned as well, indicating for him to follow as she spoke. "I wish to speak with you in private." A raised eyebrow at one of the room's other young occupants. "You too, Neji."

"As you wish, Lady Hokage," Neji bowed slightly, following after her. Shikamaru eventually followed too.

"Wait a second," Might Guy looked thoughtful. "Lady Tsunade, I don't recall anything happening on any of our missions recently, so why do you need to talk to-"

Tsunade turned back for just a moment. "What's the matter, Guy? Worried?" And she turned and began walking away again.

Guy started, suddenly concerned. "What do I have to be worried about?" His voice was quiet, but no one else was talking, so Tsunade was able to hear.

"Oh, just the fact that I'm giving classified information to the Genin under your control and not you," Tsunade ribbed, waving back at Guy as her two confidantes exchanged bemused and confused glances. "Oh, well. I'm sure you'll be useful to the village at least a little longer!"

"GAAAAAAH!" Guy screamed breathily.

**0-0-0-0**

It had only been one day or two of watching so far. Why had it felt like an eternity?

Waiting for Sasuke to receive a mission (OR even just to go outside the village for any reason at all) was simply maddening. After all, Sasuke may have been their primary target and their watchee, but the Sound Four really did have to keep an eye on everyone as best as they could. Impossible to be too careful in a city full of ninjas, after all.

Still, none of them ever felt quite comfortable splitting the party, as much as they tried to hide it whenever they did. But logic always prevailed, and their splitting up temporarily was the logical thing to do. Four different people watching four different parts of the city at once was much more efficient than them sticking together all the time, after all. Well, as long as everyone was stealthy. If even one got caught, everything would fall apart. So everyone had to watch carefully, and wait. And it should have been easy and painless to do so, especially considering that the Four were Orochimaru-trained shinobi.

But everyone in the Hidden Leaf Village was just so flippin' _happy _all the time.

There was that Naruto kid, Sasuke's incompetent little teammate, walking down the street, holding the hand of a sickeningly pretty little girl in a blue dress. Everyone passing looked on in mild confusion, or disapproval, or something, but they all got over it quickly enough. Right back to being _happy _like usual.

Naruto Uzumaki. Incompetent extraordinaire. Wasn't he supposed to be in love with that stupid-thinks-she's-smart-pink-haired girl? Sakura, right, Sasuke's other teammate. With teammates like that, it was very hard to comprehend why Sasuke _wouldn't _want to leave. And yet he didn't. In defiance of everything Orochimaru had said about the Uchiha, he had chosen to stay in this village and be _happy _like everyone else. As if there was actually anything in the world to be _happy_ about!

And that Naruto kid. That smile that people swore they could see from further away than his orange and blue jumpsuit. Good grief, OBVIOUS much? Like the most obvious ninja ever. No way he'd ever be a threat to anyone. And he was annoying, too. What was really annoying about him at the moment was that he was holding the hand of this girl. This pretty little thing. Definitely not Sakura Haruno.

Actually, 'definitely not Sakura Haruno' looked rather familiar. Was that...no way. That was the freakin' Hyuuga heiress! That shy, weak pampered little thing! Why was she holding hands with that little punk? What possible force, earthly or from the depths of hell, could possibly drive these two into being sweethearts?

Didn't she know how much of a buffoon he was?

Oh, for criminy's sake, he was grinning. Some stupid idea or another had begun swirling around in his head, hadn't it? Pulling that Hyuuga girl close, sudden, dancing ballroom style to music that didn't exist. Everyone around was staring, and she was blushing and smiling and he was laughing and everyone was _happy_. Morons. This entire stupid freakin' village was comprised of nothing but morons!

They stopped dancing, and he bowed and she curtsied, and they both laughed and everyone went about their business, a little more confused than they had been a second ago. Some applauded. Naruto and Hinata stepped towards each other again, intertwining both their hands and kissing each other. A quick peck, then they drew themselves away again, staring into each other's eyes. Small smiles, contented, on their faces. Staying like that for several moments, not giving a rat's rear who might happen to pass by and see them.

And Tayuya just wanted to stab them both through their adorable little hearts.

**0-0-0-0**

Tsuande stopped just around the corner, taking a look around the halls to be certain that no one was listening in. "Alright, then, I think we're clear." She looked down on her two co-conspirators. "Shikamaru, do you care to do the honors?"

"What is this all about?" asked Neji before Shikamaru could say anything (an easy feat). He actually had a little more than a very good idea what this was all about, but it never hurt to be certain.

"Neji. That dream you spoke of earlier." Shikamaru tried to think of the best way to say things. "We have reason to believe that it may not have actually been a dream."

Shikamaru had the Hyuuga's full attention now. Whether he was speaking of what Neji thought he was or not. "Really?"

"Indeed," continued Tsunade. Almost like a bad-cop-good-cop routine. Except with two good cops. Weird. "If it isn't too traumatic for you, would you possibly be willing to recount exactly what happened in your dream?"

Neji smiled, a little bit. He felt a bit more free to be himself now that he had nearly confirmed his suspicions. And himself, right now, was feeling almost maddeningly happy considering the glorious events that had unfolded today. Hence the extremely small smile on his face. "If you two are getting at what I think you are, I shan't need to say much. Madara attacked the Leaf Village, and then I found myself back here within it." He shrugged. "I'm sure you've gone over the details at least three or four times already, Lady Tsunade."

"I certainly have," she responded, smiling to see that a new, kinder, and a little bit happier Neji had not been destroyed ten years from now, and was indeed standing before her today. And frowning on the inside because: _-And I'm going to have to hear that same old story all over again. How many times is this going to happen?-_

Shikamaru smiled as well, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Hey, man! How's ten years past been treatin' you?"

"Troublesomely," Neji responded, a mocking edge to his voice. Unknown to Neji, it hurt Shikamaru a little to hear this joke, but of course the shadowman did not let on to this fact in the slightest. If Neji had known, he'd have been impressed at Shikamaru's display of emotional falsity. Horrified, but impressed. "Still, the worst of it appears to be over for now," he looked plaintive, "And there certainly do seem to be benefits to this whole arrangement."

"Yes, I believe you were holding hands with one of those 'benefits' a couple minutes ago?" Tsunade teased, smirking with a single eyebrow raised. Feeling more comfortable treating these 'kids' as the adults and equals they apparently were. And therefore not above shooting a barb at them every now and then.

Not that this was the appropriate time for this to happen. Shikamaru and Neji looked at their Hokage, slightly confused. Not the reaction she was expecting. "Uh, Tenten and Neji are kinda married in the future, Lady Tsunade. Remember?" Shikamaru awkwardly reminded his usually-not-this-forgetful leader..

The Legendary Sucker sweatdropped, blinking rapidly while her mouth fell open weirdish and she made some strange noises, similar to but not quite laughter. "Ohhoho...you, you didn't tell me _that_, Shikamaru."

Neji looked at Shikamaru with pursed lips and an expression in his eyes and brows that just screamed 'way to go, slugger' in a very sarcastic tone of voice. Even future-Neji was not normally this expressive, but things were odd today. "Huh," Shikamaru said, unresponsive to Neji's glare. "Could have sworn I did."

Tsunade sighed. _-Well, this is great. Even more awkwardness to deal with.- _A disturibing thought. _-Wait, so does this mean that they're still married, now? As thirteen-year-olds?- _Then, aloud, to avoid any more uncomfortabilities: "Alright. Neji, Shikamaru, I'm going to want you to meet with me after your training today. We have a lot to talk about concerning future events. She thought for a moment more. "And so do Naruto and Sasuke. Inform them of the meeting as well."

"Understood, m'lady," Shikamaru bowed.

"Yes. Of course," Neji bowed as well.

"Very good," Tsunade said, moving past them both rather quickly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a drink." She said the last part under her breath, of course.

Not that that stopped the other two adults there from hearing. "Heh," Shikamaru chuckled. "That figures." He breathed out, not quite a sigh. "So, seriously now, how you holding up?" Shikamaru asked, concerned, especially considering..well. Several factors.

Neji thought for a moment. "I am uncertain," he said, sounding surprised at this answer himself.

"How so?" Shikamaru asked. Not as if he believed that Neji shouldn't feel that way, but because he sincerely wanted to know exactly the reason or reasons why.

"Everything is still odd for me," Neji said, looking at a faraway point that probably didn't even exist in this timeline. "I see all these faces, and I hear these stories, and it makes sense, and it doesn't, and I keep getting this headache, and my memories seem disjointed." Rambling wasn't like Neji, either. Despite his happy exterior, he seemed off on the inside. In support of this theory, he held his head for a moment, attempting to stop the flow of information streaming from his mouth, but unable to. The words were creating too much pressure in his mind; they had to escape or he'd melt down again. "I have them all back, I think, but the ones from the future and the ones from the past couple of days are all so fuzzy around the edges I can't be certain."

"Fuzzy?" repeated Shikamaru, suddenly worried.

"That is the best word I can think of to describe it," Neji explained, bringing his head back up and looking down at his hands, pivoting them on their wrists a few times.

"Think you'll be okay?" Shikamaru asked. He wasn't really expecting Neji to answer straight, thinking the man who hid his emotions would be all too eager to hide symptoms of sickness as well.

"I'm not certain," Neji subverted Shikamaru's expectations. Then again, today he seemed very different from the man he usually was. Overly-emotional, one might say. But then, Shikamaru had noted all that before, several times. Still, somehow, he always forgot to take it into account. "The world has changed for me, Shikamaru. For you." He looked his impromptu and amateur therapist straight in the eyes. "How on Earth have you dealt with it all? With such ease?"

This last sentence seemed to throw the young man's genius I.Q,, as he paused, blink absent, for several seconds, eyes slowly drifting downwards and away, unable to focus on anything more complex than floorboards while considering Neji's question. "You know what?" he finally whispered. Neji prepared himself, getting the feeling he wouldn't like the answer. He was right, but not for the expected reasons. "I honestly have no idea."

**0-0-0-0**

_-Ah, home sweet home,-_ Kakashi thought, much later in the day, stepping into his relatively modest apartment. _-How I have missed you these past few days.-_ Though ninja were used to spending large amounts of time away from home, and Mr. Hatake was no exception, for some reason the salt-and-pepper-haired man had felt unusually homesick on his last few missions, which had had practically no breaks between them.

He wasn't sure, really, why he liked this house of his, well, this room of his so much. It wasn't familiarity; he hardly spent any time here. It wasn't comfort; he had purchased only the barest minimum of things for himself, preferring to spend the rest on pure and wholesome reading and roses (from 'a secret admirer') for the more unappreciated girls of the Hidden Leaf Village. It wasn't because he was a person who preferred to be alone; he knew plenty of places outside the house to be alone in. More comfortable sleeping quarters, too. No sentimental or financial ties to the place, so what was it?

Well, time to ponder philosophy later. Or psychology, or whatever you wanted to call it. Right now, Kakashi had decided, he was going to serve himself up a bowl of miso soup. With eggplant, of course. If he could find some in this house. After that, he would curl up with a respectable book and spend the rest of the evening reading it. A pure 'day off'. A thought occurred to him, and he sniffed his armpit. "Ugh. Maybe I should shower first." Well, either way, Kakashi slowly moved his fingers up towards his mask.

"Achoo," sneezed someone, very softly, from the shadows of the room.

Kakashi snapped his fingers from his mask, and slightly more slowly (but not by much) moved his hand down to grab a kunai from his pouch, holding it in a defensive position. Any ninja who noticed this would realize that he was actually more scared of someone seeing him maskless than he was of being attacked. "Alright," Kakashi said, angry. Or at least, putting on the angry face that the situation called for. "Come out in the open. Who are you? How did you get past my traps?"

"Sheez, calm down, it's just me" said Anko, stepping forward and out of the corner she'd been concealing herself in. That smile Kakashi knew all too well was on her face. "Don't be so angry. Though I gotta tell ya, the traps were pretty darn easy to get past. All the dust in here, not so much." She rubbed her finger under her nose, sniffling a little. "I mean, seriously, do you ever clean around here?"

"Anko," Kakashi grumbled, putting down his kunai with something much like reluctance. "Sneaking into my house. Why am I surprised?" He shook his head. "I assume you have a good reason for being here?"

"'Course I do!" Anko grinned. "I was gonna finally see what you look like without that mask of yours!"

"Sure it was just the mask?" Kakashi pointed out. "I notice you didn't exactly rush out to stop me from removing the rest of my clothes when I said I was going to take a shower."

"That was just the bonus, hot stuff!" Anko's grin grew ever larger. She opened one eye to look at Kakashi, then frowned, looking away. Much like a child might upon being told she couldn't have something she wanted. "Don't give me that look. You're the one who reads pornography in public."

Kakashi sighed deeply, deciding to cut to the heart of the matter. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the ANBU Black Ops to come pick you up." In response to this, Anko almost instantly (And also calmly. Her speed had nothing to do with fear or panic.) held up an envelope in front of Kakashi's face, intending to let it hang there for several seconds as a punctuation to how wrong he was in his assumptions. Of course, she didn't count on his short attention span: "Hmm? What's this?" he asked, sincerely, almost half a second after Anko raised up her hand.

Anko took her turn at grumbling as Kakashi grabbed the envelope away from her, tearing it open, as it was obviously meant for him. "Marching orders," Anko recovered in style. "You and your brats got a mission tomorrow. C-Rank. Something about meeting in the morning to discuss the details."

Kakashi read over the note a second time to make sure he had not missed anything vital. "Alright," he said, sounding genuinely excited. "It's been a while since my team's had a real mission." He chuckled. "And maybe it's just me, but I think we could all stand to work off some energy!" He outright laughed at this.

"Eh, whatever," Anko shrugged, heading towards the door. "My mission's complete, at any rate. Good luck on yours, see ya round, yadda yadda-"

SPLASH. Drip, drip, drip.

Kakashi allowed himself a single 'heh' at the sight before him, and then brought the note back up to eye level. "You didn't get past all the traps, did you?" asked Kakashi, holding back the laughter in his voice as he deadpannedly reread the letter from Lady Tsunade.

Anko blushed, angry and embarassed, as she slowly pulled the bucket off her head, water dripping from her now-clinging clothes and hair. "I'm gonna get you for this someday, Hatake," she threatened simply as she continued opening the door, taking Kakashi's bucket with her as a useless act of revenge as she left.

"Ooh, last name basis," Kakashi continued talking complacently, with a small titter, as if she weren't there. "That means you're really angry. And I'm certain you'll still be just as angry tomorrow." He stared at the note for a few moments before sitting down on his well-used comfy couch, looking up to the ceiling. "This'll be good for them," he said to himself. "Getting out of the Village. Staying cooped up here too long can make you act strange."

Outside the window and from a distance, a two-headed figure suddenly grinned a scythe-like grin. Then, with a flash of nothing and darkened chuckle, he was no longer there. Just as he was certain neither Sasuke nor his teammates would be there tomorrow. Quicker results than he'd been expecting, too. Yes, things were finally beginning to look up for Sakon and the Sound Four.

But the strange thing is, when you look up, you expose your throat to attack.

**0-0-0-0**

Rock Lee awoke again. The same hospital ceiling as always, that same familiar pain in his left half, though now admittedly much decreased. He had the good doctors and nurses of this hospital to thank for that. And, since they seemed to know what they were doing, the apprentice and idolizer of Might Guy had followed their orders, staying in bed all day and dozing off and on, and good gracious, he was bored. How was he supposed to get better if he could not train?

Lee sat up in bed, covers falling off of his bedrobed chest. Lee always slept in a bedrobe. Sleeping in the same gear you trained in seemed weird, and he never felt comfortable sleeping in his boxers. Or lack thereof. _-Perhaps tomorrow I shall be well enough to train again?-_ He thought to himself, wistful. _-I certainly do hope so.-_

Some part, deep inside Lee, needed to train. And the rest of Lee had no idea what he wanted to do, so of course the part that knew what it needed to do had free reign. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but it left the bowl-cut bruiser at a loss for what to do whenever it was simply not physically possible for him to train. He knew there had to be something, but what?

He'd tried romance. A young man was supposed to date a special girl whom he would protect and cherish, to find the one true love of his youthful life! _-That is what Guy-sensei told me, at the very least.- _His brows shifted. Very noticeable. _-And Guy-sensei is always right. But how exactly does one go about wooing their special someone?- _He'd tried with Sakura, still occasionally tried with Sakura. Never really succeeded with Sakura, though.

Lee shifted in his bed, leaning his body up against the wall it lay next to. He thought a little more, sighed, shook his head. _-I really do not know what else to do with my time. Lady Tsunade said that I may never quite regain the complete ability I formerly had as a ninja.- _Irrational thoughts and fears sunk their talons into his imagination. _-Is this, perhaps, her way of saying I shall never be a ninja again after all? Even though I had the operation?- _He shook his head. _-No, no! You must not think that! You must have faith, faith that you will pull through this!- _

He felt this way for a little bit, and then, the doubts came back. Horrible little things that engorge themselves upon your creativity and willpower and will not go away no matter what methods you try. _-I hope I can pull through this. If not, I do not believe my body shall be able to handle my training as it has in the past.-_ He paused in his thoughts. _-So then what shall I do when I am not training?- _And so the cycle started again.

But all cycles, though infinite from a technical term, eventually end, and this one did as Lee suddenly, corner of his eye, saw someone lying in a bed next to his own, several feet away from him. _-Someone __else?-_ Lee thought. _-They were not here before I last went to sleep.- _He looked closer, trying to fix an image of this person in his mind.

The girl (he was surprised it was a girl) was about his age, from the look of her, or at least what Lee could tell with her hospital gown. She was slightly built, and her breasts still seemed to be forming, though perhaps she was simply small in stature. She was short, too, very petite all around. The leaf shinobi headband next to her on a nearby table indicated she was a kunoichi. Probably injured in the line of battle.

Her brunette hair was light in shade, but only at the roots. As her hair proceeded onward, onward, onward, to the end of its length, a very short length, it darkened ashier and ashier and ashier, until finally it became soot black, uneven, and thoroughly messed. Her brow was creased, her eyebrows missing, and her face had a scowl upon it, though it was hard to tell if this was because of her attitude or simply a natural result of the great unnatural twistings and layerings of her skin, which was almost patchwork and reddend in appearance. Her eyes sank inwards slightly, their spark within gone, if there was indeed ever any there at all. Her nose was out of joint, her mouth nearly disappearing under all the skin grafts.

No matter which direction you approached it from, she looked miserable.

Lee stared at this strange girl for a while, lost in thought. Eventually, she felt his gaze upon her, and turned her head, agonizingly slow, towards him. Determined, though. She never faltered despite the careful pace of her movement. "What?" she finally asked in a voice that spat acid with each breath, poison with each letter, and a different degree of flame and heat with each and every inflection. "You can quit staring any time, you know."

"I am sorry," Lee said, smiling. Completely unaffected, because he knew it must hurt. "I was simply curious as to why there might be a girl in this hospital room." He looked confused, now. "Doesn't the Leaf Village hospital usually put people of different genders in different rooms?"

"They ran out of room, okay? That answer your question?" The girl snapped, both her words and her neck, looking away from Lee again.

"Yes, it does. Thank you," Lee responded. He blinked a few times, taking a page from Shikamaru's book and applying his own little twist to it. After another shift in position: "So, what is your name?"

"Is this your attempt and making me feel better?" the girl shot back, angry and angry and angry and scared.

Lee paused. He was not as good at planning things as Shikamaru was. Perhaps he should stop planning? Just...perhaps? "My name is Rock Lee. I know I do no't look like it, but..." he grinned. "I am a leaf ninja as well!"

The girl remained quiet for several seconds. "Yoshe Yuuryokuten," she finally responded. Very mumbledly.

"Ah, I see," Lee nodded. "Well, it is very nice to meet you, Yoshe!" She was silent. "So," Lee continued, "What kind of jutsu do you specialize in?"

"Taijutsu," Yoshe said simply.

"Ah ha! That is what I specialize in as well!" Lee shouted with glee. "Perhaps we could show each other some pointers some time."

"Not anymore," Yoshe closed her eyes. "I'm too badly injured."

Lee was undeterred. "There is no such thing!" Probably not the right thing to say, at least not without explaining why he felt that way. "Believe me, Yoshe-"

"What is your problem, anyway?" Yoshe suddenly shouted at him, almost at the same time he said her name.

"Wh-what?" Lee asked, shocked.

"Can't you see I just want to be left alone?" she continued shouting, tears welling in her eyes. She rolled over in bed, turning away from Lee. From the way her body shuddered, it was obvious it caused her great pain.

Lee was silent for some time, thinking again. Carefully trying to figure out what to say. "I am sorry," he finally apologized. He could think of nothing else to say. Quite possibly, he shouldn't have said anything.

"Sorry?" the dam finally burst as Yoshe sat up in bed, revealing her full burned and surgeoned face to Lee, who had only seen her in profile or slightly concealed by beddings before. "Look at me! You think saying you're 'sorry' will do anything to fix this? To fix _me_?" Tears were streaming down her face as she gingerly leaned forward, trembling with fury and grief. This did nothing to lessen the impact of her words. "But then you've already seen me! You stared, just like everyone else who's looked at me since that mission where I..." she paused, taking some deep breaths. "You're just like everyone else! You pity me and you try your best to make me feel better and nothing you say means anything because you don't really mean it, because in the end, I'm still...I'm still..." swallowed sobs clenched her throat as her shoulders shook, foundations of her body threatening to crumble under pressure. "I still look like _this._ I'm still ugly and I'm useless to everyone as a ninja and every time I breathe it hurts." She closed her eyes tightly, now. "And all you can say is 'sorry?" she sobbed out, great sobs causing pain, causing more sobs, and causing more pain.

Lee stared at her for several seconds, taken aback at an outburst he knew was coming, but knew not the depths of. And, no matter how much it might hurt (for he had no idea whether or not it was the right thing to say), he could only think of one thing to say: the truth. "Yoshe, you are not useless. Or ugly."

"Yes, I am!" Yoshe cried.

"No," Lee shook his head, with a joyful smile on his face that hid no insincerity and a gleam in his eyes that spoke of nothing but good will. "I do not believe that. It is not true." He smile grew a little larger, more comforting. "If it helps, Yoshe," still he was uncertain whether he was saying the right thing or not, "I think that...you look beautiful."

Yoshe's breath was suddenly whipped from her lungs, a victim of the electric shock that was hearing those words. She slowly turned her eyes towards Lee, tears now running unchecked, but sobbing completely gone. _-Beautiful?- _she thought, feeling her blood heat up in her cheeks._  


* * *

_I'm very sorry; I didn't have room to write 'LeexOC' into the summary. Begging your pardon.

...all jokes aside, I'd like to be completely serious for just a moment. Though no person reacts exactly the same asanother to any specific trauma, there are certain ways that people definitely do _not _react when they are victims of abuse, of rape, of torture, of burns capable of twisting one's flesh, or any trauma one might suffer. I don't believe I have made poor Yoshe react in some way that a person most definitely would not react to being put through what she is being put through, but I don't know for certain.

And furthermore, I do not mean to suggest that every victim of any trauma, burns or otherwise, reacts only with anger and sadness, or only in the way Yoshe has reacted. Those elements are there, in varying degrees for varying people, but there are such things as hope and forgiveness as well, and many other reactions, positive and negative, on top of all that.

Nor do I mean to suggest that a nice girlfriend or boyfriend is the absolute only thing that anyone needs to get through anything in life. I doubt that is often the case in real life, and despite what little you've read about the situation so far, it won't be the case in this fic either.

Nor do I mean to suggest that if you say the things Lee has said here, or even similar things, to someone who has suffered major injuries, everything will always, or even often, turn out okay. They technically still haven't in this fictional world, even. It's just that what he has said is the first step to her recovering, and that too is a rarity among rarities in real life.

What I'm trying to say is simply this: please, for the sake of yourself, for the sake of your friends, or your relatives, or even your acquaintances, let me know and let me know as soon as possible if I, in characterizing Yoshe, have written something overwhelmingly stupid that makes you want to hit me over how insensitive I was, and I will change as need be and as soon as I read what you have told me. I will remove the entire conversation, the entire subplot if need be, the instant that anyone tells me with good reason that they think I cannot handle this plot without getting all the details wrong, because they are probably right. I have no frame of reference to fall back on here, and thus I need to know from people who do if I do something horrid without meaning to.

I have been blessed, in that I do not truly know what trauma is like. If you know enough, firsthand, secondhand, through any closeness at all with anyone who has experienced the worst the world has to offer, I am entirely sorry for what happened, and I can only hope that things have and always will improve for you. If you need them, and are willing to ask, you certainly have my prayers, as many or as few as you think you need.

Now, all that said with great seriousness and somberness, there are still such things as good and fun and laughter in the world, as I intend to show in this Omake. Careful you don't get whiplash from my sudden and steep dive, emotional roller-coaster-wise. Probably too late...

**OMAKE #6**

Originally, when Kakashi said 'any questions', Sakura was going to have questions. It would have been hilarious to watch Sasuke's reactions, yes, but I still felt after typing it all out that it was too far out of her character too do something like that. So I simply rewrote that whole section, whittling down Sakura's pubescent curiousity into a single statement made by her inner. Still, though, I couldn't bear to let go a certain conversation between Kakashi and Sasuke after Sakura went home to discuss with her parents the finer details of the birds and the bees...

**0-0-0-0**

"Sakura, you will be going home," Kakashi sternly ordered. "No matter how 'embarrassing' it is, some things you need to be taught as a daughter, not as a ninja." He shrugged. "Even if I do have certain rules on how shinobi and kunoichi under my care should conduct themselves."

Sakura sighed. "Alright," she begrudgingly admitted. "You're probably right." She smiled a little. "I'll see you both later, okay?" she smiled back as she bounded up into the trees, heart fluttering and sinking in patterns opposite the way she leapt from branch to branch.

Kakashi chuckled, looking after her with memories in his eyes. Good ones, for once. Sasuke, meanwhile, was less nostalgic: "Okay, what did you have me stick around for?" he asked, a dangerous tone to his voice. He had a great sinking feeling in his stomach that was telling him horrid things he wished to disconfirm.

"You know," Kakashi indirectly answered Sasuke's question, "If I were a fortune-teller, I don't think I'd have predicted this." He looked down to the ground, walking towards Sasuke. "And even _if_, and that's a big if, I thought one of you might be more curious about what I was talking about it, and the other repulsed-"

"It'd be the other way around, I get it," Sasuke shortened Kakashi's sentence with his sharpened words."Now what do you want, already?" But he knew the answer to that question. He knew the answer.

"It would be awkward," Kakashi placed his arm around his student's shoulders, "If your girlfriend knew so much more than you when you two got older, right? "

"She's not my girlfirend, believe me," Sasuke said, a note of desperation creeping into his voice somewhere around the 'eve' in believe.

"You don't have anyone to help you with the strange feelings you're experiencing, like she does," Kakashi said solemnly as he stared at the area Sakura had just left from.

"I will pay you any amount of money you want if you do not put me through this, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke negotiated, just as desperate as before. He even added the 'sensei' to the end of 'Kakashi'.

"Perhaps I am being presumptuous, but I like to think of myself as kind of a father-figure to you, Sasuke," Kakashi plugged forward, too late to stop now, to change course, approaching the event horizon. The inevitability was staggering. "And so I am prepared, nay, happy to give you the wisdom of mind and spirit you will need to balance the knowledge of actions and desires."

"I will do your laundry, I will dance around in public in my underwear, I'll will find the Fountain of Youth and get you water from it-"

"Sasuke Uchiha," Kakashi was celearly enjoying this far more than he should "Today, with the paternal guidance I give you, you will take your first step into becoming a true man."

"I hate you with every fiber of my being," Sasuke lamented.

"I know, Sasuke. I know," Kakashi nodded cheerfully.

**0-0-0-0**

As a side note, pretty sure this is my longest Omake yet. Don't quote me on that, though.

At any rate, God bless you all, and many happy days before ye. Hopefully it won't be so long this time until I next update!

...also, only a couple more chapters until the next action scene!

**EDIT: **Though there are some typos here I noticed, I am certain you guys are capable of ignoring them. However, and more importantly, I actually had Rock Lee use some contractions when writing this chapter! I must be more tired today than I thought...well, it's fixed now. Or, as Lee would say, "The deed has been accomplished! We are now operating at one-hundred-and-ten percent of our maximum efficiency, Guy-Sensei!"


	10. Chapter 10

Hey, a quick question...with a name like 'jawbreakers', how did they ever become popular?

Hello, this is AProcrastinatingWriter and no, you're not imagining things: it really has been that long since I last updated. Well, can't say I didn't warn you. On the other hand, the next chapter should be out pretty quick since it contains a battle for most of it, and I'm good with battles if not anything else.

But none of that matters right now. Right now: we have a new chapter to get to; a chapter in which Shino acts very out-of-character. I wrote him this way on purpose, unlike how I usually write characters out of their charaters, so don't worry too much about that. I even draw a lot of attention to that fact. As to why he's out of character, you're going to have to wait at least one more chapter to find out, at most three.

But once again, that's not the most important part. The most important part is this: _I snuck in a reference to One Piece in this chapter._ I'm not saying to review if you do find it, I'm just saying it's there if you want to find it. Be careful; it's obvious.

Well, now that all that absurdity is over with, let's get to the chapter itself, shall we?

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN**

**SHORT FUSES, DUD EXPLOSIONS  
**

**-OR-**

**HOW TO DELIVER A PACKAGE**

**

* * *

**With a tick and tock or two, the second, the minute, the hour hand, made their repeated rounds throughout the numbers of the clock. To put it simply, time passed. And so, the next day. Still beautiful weather, perhaps a little overcast, but nowhere near enough to blot out any of the sun. Basically, the edge of the sky was cloudy.

Logic would indicate that, going by time-traveling standards, this would be the last day. Five people, four of which awoke in the past three days. The fifth one should naturally wake up today, of all days.

Yet, across the great nations, not a peep of surprise from anyone waking up anywhere they shouldn't be waking up. No one trying to gain their bearings in a time not their own.

Gaara wasn't there yet.

Or at least, that's what Shikamaru could surmise, waking up early in the morning (_-Man, what has time travel done to me?-_) and keeping vigilant watch since for word from the Sand. He figured, since Gaara didn't sleep in this timeline, he'd just kind of...pop up sometime in the middle of the night. Closest thing he could figure to reality, anyway. And then once Gaara was really awake, he'd talk to his brother and sister, and they'd send word, since he'd specifically asked to send word to the Leaf once the Sand's resident demon container started acting strangely.

...well, maybe 'acting strangely' wasn't exactly the most specific of all the messages he could have given them. But then again, anything more specific would be disobeying the Hokage's orders. _-Still,-_ Shikamaru thought, _-I wonder if they really got the message.-_ He thought a few more moments, then looked at the sun. _-Ah well,-_ he thought with a yawn, _-Gotta go train with dear old dad. Maybe I'll hear word later. After all,-_ and here he jumped down from the top of the wall and onto the staircase leading down it, _-It's not like he can't come back sometime in the afternoon, right?-_

**0-0-0-0**

And so, the scene moves from one staircase to the next, this set of stairs being the ones just outside of the Hokage's tower, the ones wrapping around that tower. "A mission? Really?" asked Sakura, smiling. Every kunoichi should be happy to get a mission, after all. Not that they should show it when actually given the mission, but still.

"Yep," said Kakashi, looking back. Dangerous when on stairs. "Looks like your long string of days off is finally over."

"That's a relief," said Sasuke, subconsciously trying to figure out what the most natural distance between him and Sakura would be. Not that he need have bothered; Sakura was still too creeped out by memories of Kakashi talking with the two to make much of a move today. "I've been itching to get some action in."

"Speak for yourself," Naruto grumbled. "I was actually looking forward to another day off," he opened one eye and grinned at his Team's leader, "And with Kakashi here as our sensei, I was looking forward to three more days off, too."

"Ouch," laughed Kakashi, "Come on, Naruto. Give me a _little _credit!" He appeared to think for a moment. "By the way, out of left field, how did your date last afternoon go?"

"Ah, it was great!" Naruto said, sincerely not catching himself. "Man, me and Hinata...wait." He stopped in his tracks, and one could almost watch the wheels in his head turn. "GAH!"

"Naruto!" Sakura turned, shouting at him. Sasuke looked on, bemused. "You mean you were out yesterday with Hinata when you were supposed to be in bed resting? IDIOT!"

"N-now, Sakura, wait, please! I couldn't help it!" Naruto tried to plead the best way he might have at the age of twelve, knowing he was in for 'light tap' on the head all the while. Sasuke, still bemused, leaned up against the wall, smirking and just waiting for the executioner's axe to fall. "I mean, Hinata's just so pretty!"

Kakashi laughed softly. _-Ah, sweet revenge.- _he thought, not looking back at his students at all as he continued walking, even though he was also partially relieved that they were acting like their old selves. _-It looks like everything's finally starting to go back to normal.-_

**0-0-0-0**

Meanwhile, at the exact same time Kakashi was saying this, Neji was wearing a party hat. It was a bright blue in color with little stars on it.

Lee had apparently needed much more rest than Tsuande had originally thought, because when they came back in to check on him, he was sound asleep. It had taken a lot of effort to keep Might Guy from waking his pupil. Not that Guy was trying to wake Lee or anything, that's simply the boisterous way Guy stated the obvious for ya.

But Lee was awake now, and so in lieu of actual training or a mission, his team was celebrating his being well again. Of course, Guy overdid everything, thus the party hats. Not that this was an actual party (Neji, even as a more mature and emotionally stable adult, had vehemently shot down any suggestion of such an event after the basically-a-rave a few nights ago), but still, Guy was treating it as such.

"We're glad to have you back on the team, Lee!" the Green Beast finally wrapped up his speech, nice-guying at Rock Lee with all his might.

"Thank you, Guy-sensei," Lee smiled, uncertainty at the corners. An odd expression to find on the youth's face. "But, to be perfectly honest, we can hardly say I am back on the team as of yet."

"That's non-" began Guy,.

"That's not true at all," Tenten interrupted without even realizing she had, pulling Lee into a half-headlock, half hug.

"Gah!" Lee shouted. Not because she was hurting him (she somehow managing to be both tough and gentle with Lee at the same time), but because he was startled.

"You're back on the team whether you like it or not!" Tenten exclaimed happily.

"That's right!" Guy jumped in, thumbs up, somehow popping up on the other side of Lee, without being in his bed, even though Lee was lying close to the edge of a bed opposite the edge up against the wall. "And you'd better make sure to get better as quickly as possible, because as soon as you are, your training is going to intensify a thousand-fold!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Lee eagerly saluted as best as he could, considering Tenten still had him off his center of gravity.

"Uh, oh," Tenten said, worried, but still with a smile on her face. She finally loosened her grip on Lee, though she didn't let go entirely, and turned to the room's occupant of Hyuuga descent. "You hear that, Neji? Guy's gonna work us even harder from now on."

Neji closed his eyes. "I suppose," he shrugged his shoulders, arms remaining crossed, tone rather neutral.

"Same old emotionless Neji," Tenten sweatdropped, finally letting go of Lee entirely. "What are we going to do with you?" _-And here I was hoping something might stick after yesterday,-_ she thought.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Neji was nowhere near emotionless at the moment. Quite the opposite. _-She was hugging him.-_ he thought, astonished. Also quite angry. _-Tenten was hugging Lee. Does that mean that she...-_ he blinked twice, his restrained version of rapidly shaking one's head to clear the mind. _-No. Of course not. You know, and Tenten has told you, that she has never held any interest in Lee. Well, except perhaps a short phase when she was a...-_ His eyes widened slightly now. _-A young teenager! As she is right now! I must...stay calm. I must stay calm. Even if that is what is happening, do not react. As long as Lee shows no interest in her, her crush will eventually go away. As it did the first time.- _

"So, Lee, what would you like for breakfast?" Guy asked, placing his hand on his young ward's shoulder. Neji was thinking fast; only a second or two had passed between Tenten's last sentence and the one Guy had just spoken.

_-But, what if it becomes more than a crush this time?- _Neji worried. _-What if I do something stupid?- _His hand involuntarily clenched, driving his nails into his skin. Not hard enough to bleed, but enough to hurt. _-Or what if my attitude at the party turned her off to the idea of dating me, or perhaps if Lee's moves made her...- _Neji's brain suddenly acknowledged the pain his arm was in, which snapped him out of things quite handily. _-That is quite possibly the stupidest thing you have ever thought. Lee? Making a girl swoon? By dancing? That is simply ridiculous.- _

"No, thank you, Guy-sensei, I am not that hungry," Lee waved off his hero's question.

"Lee! Guy cried, drawing his hand back in horror. "How could you ever forget that breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a young man's health and nutrition?"

_-Almost as ridiculous as the thought of my dancing making a girl swoon,- _Neji thought, poking fun at himself. He could not suppress a smile at thinking the aforementioned thought. _-Yet for some reason, Tenten always loved dancing with me. Slow dancing, usually. Despite my two left feet, and similarly paired arms.- _His smile turned back into a frown. _-I really need to suppress these hormones. I did it the first time, I can do it this time as well.-_ He concentrated. _-I will not let these things control me. I will not have thoughts like...-_ He blushed, eyes snapping open. Thankfully, no one noticed. _-...like _that _distracting me.-_

"Oh, of course!" Lee cried as well. "Please forgive me, Guy-sensei! I was not thinking clearly!"

"Of course, Lee, I understand completely," Guy said with his weird inflections, "You have a lot on your mind, after all."

"For my punishment, I will run around the hospital fifty-" Lee began.

"I believe that we can skip the punishment this time around, Lee" Guy said, hastily cutting off his students before he could promise anything, "These are special circumstances, after all. Now, then, what say we put a big, delicious, healthy meal in your stomach, huh?"

"Yes sir, Guy-sensei!"

Tenten giggled at the two, then turned back to Neji again. The smile dropped off her face, but she looked quizzical in replacement of it, not saddened. She blinked a couple of times, then walked over to the man who might very well be her husband one day. "Hey, Neji? Are you alright?"

"Perfectly," Neji half-lied. As in, he wasn't sure whether he was lying or not, at least not at the moment. "Why would you ask?"

"Just a look I saw in your eye," Tenten said, placing one hand on her hip and drumming her side with her fingers. An absent-minded approximation of a real absentminded habit of hers, in which she would place a hand on her side and twirl a kunai around her other hand's fingers. Not finger, fingers. Made people nervous to see at first, but eventually they got used to it. Some took longer than others. "It's gone now." She thought for a second. "Then again," she laughed, "I guess any look in your eye at all is different enough for me to get worried, huh?"

"Indeed," Neji responded, nodding. He paused for a moment. "I'm...sorry."

"Huh? Why are you sorry?" Tenten asked, confused.

_-For having to lie to you,-_ Neji thought. Out loud: "I have trouble expressing myself. I...wish I didn't." He was pausing a lot when he spoke. He wasn't sure himself whether this was natural or whether he had simply...that phrase was...immersed himself in the charater.

Tenten smiled. "Aww, that's okay, Neji." She outright grinned, grabbing his cheek and pinching. "We still love you, don't we, guys?"

"Please stop," Neji said emotionlessly, looking up to see if Guy and Lee were watching. Thankfully for him, they weren't, and were instead perusing the contents of the hospital's menu for the day. After a sigh and a moment or two of struggle, Neji managed to wrest himself from Tenten's iron grip, much to her giggling amusement. "Guy-sensei?"

Guy looked up from his task while Lee drooled over some entree or another. Only Lee would drool over hospital food. "What is it, Neji?" Guy asked.

"Can I please take this hat off now?"

**0-0-0-0**

Tsuande was not used, in her currently brief stint as Hokage, to having different members of a team show up at different times, but she could understand how it happened in this case. At least, she thought she could. Kakashi had shown up first, followed a couple minutes later by an chuckling Sasuke, then quickly by an angry-looking Sakura, then a fearful Naruto several moments after. So, yeah, Tsuande could approximate what had happened on the way up to her office.

But she didn't exactly want to ask for specifics. No, it was her job to give out specifics, not ask for them, when dealing with Genin at least. Well, it was supposed to be, and yet she had asked Genin for lots and lots of details four times this week. And the one time she seemed to be giving out details was when she didn't want to be; when Rock Lee wrangled her into telling him straight what his chances as a ninja were. But, at least for now, none of that mattered, and everything was going exactly like she wanted. "Your mission is technically C-ranked," Tsunade briefed the group in front of her, "But it has the potential to go up in difficulty at any moment."

"Hmm? Why's that?" Naruto asked.

"I'm getting to that, Naruto" Tsunade said pointedly. _-Do you have to keep up the act quite this well?- _Tsunade exasperatedly questioned him within the safety of her mind. "Your mission is to deliver a package of some importance to a diplomat in the Land of Grasshoppers by the name of Oda Eiichiro. And before anyone asks: the contents of the package are on a need-to-know basis, and to put it bluntly, none of you need to know."

"Let me guess," Sasuke broke in, "The mission itself is just as need-to-know?"

"Exactly," said Tsuande. "The only information I gave Anko, who delivered the mission briefings to your sensei," And here she nodded at Kakashi, who smiled, "Was that you had a mission, and that it was ranked C. And that is all you are to tell anyone who asks you exactly what your mission is."

_-That idiot,- _Sakura thought, not paying attention to the briefing at all. No chance to relieve stress brought on by anger did that to her. _-He's just so oblivious to danger all the time! He's gonna get himself killed one of these days if he keeps up stupid stunts like this!-_

"If word should get out to certain people about the exact nature of your mission," Tsunade continued, bringing a cup of steaming tea about halfway to her lips, "The difficulty level of this little outing would skyrocket, due to the threat of attack by enemy ninja trying to intercept the package you're carrying." The Fifth Hokage somehow managed to look the entire group of people before her ominously in the eyes. "That is why you must remain vigilant."

"Don't worry, Grandma!" Naruto exclaimed, making the peace sign. "Vigilance is my middle name! Hee, hee."

"We're doomed," Sasuke faceplamed.

Kakashi reacted differently. "So where is this legendary package, anyway?"

Without a word, Tsuande reached under her desk and brought back out a very small box, small enough to fit in one hand. With an underhanded toss she gave it to Kakashi. "Here," she said as she turned the object into a projectile.

"Woah there," Kakashi almost exclaimed, catching the wrapped box handily. "Hmm. Tiny little thing," he said, examining the the cube from all sides.

"And not fragile, either," Tsuande smirked, finally raising the cup to her waiting mouth. "Perfect object for hiding away from the enemy." And with this bit of Sage advice, she actually took a sip of tea, smiling in enjoyment of her early morning drink.

Kakashi shook the box a little next to his ear. "Hmm. No sound, either. You're right, this is perfect for hiding." He turned his face back towards his Village Leader. "So where exactly are we to take this little prize to?"

"The Land of Grasshoppers is not very far from here," Tsunade said, setting her cup of tea off to the side and pulling out a map. Everyone got up close to look except Sakura, who was still angry and letting her mind wander all over. Tsunade pointed a polished fingernail down at the map, letting it hang above the drop-off point for just as long as the three ninja needed to memorize the location. "And neither is the diplomat you're supposed to meet. If you proceed cautiously, as I suggest you should, you should be back within two or three days. If, for some reason, you decide it's necessary to hurry, you should be back in town by nightfall."

_-Always so obnoxious and rude and errgh!- _Sakura's angry thoughts were becoming less and less related to Naruto actually going out with Hinata yesterday. _-And he doesn't care about anything, he just...argh!- _Less coherent as well. Usually she'd be able to control her anger better, but then usually she'd have gotten rid of it by now by, well, BAM. But she'd resolved to do that less from now on;. _-And that hair, doesn't he at LEAST care about how he looks?-_

"Now, there are two paths to the destination point," Tsuande continued. "Since they take about the same amount of time to cross, thanks to the terrain, I would ask that you avoid the mountainous area here," And she pointed to the map again, "And instead cross through the forest here." And she pointed to another section of map. "And not just for the obvious reasons, either."

"Ah, right," Kakashi understood. The other two near the map turned to him. "That mountainy place is full of bandits, correct?"

"That's right," Tsuande confirmed. "They'd be easy enough for you all to handle, certainly, but they'd also take time to take out." She smiled a little. "And I'm afraid I've been tasked with the paradox of asking you three to both go as fast as possible and to be as careful as possible."

"Yeah, that does sound kind of silly," Naruto admitted, "But don't worry, I'm sure we can handle it."

"Wait, us 'three'?" Sasuke caught on. "Is Kakashi not coming with us?"

"I thought I was," Kakashi blinked. "She did toss the package to me, after all." He became aware of a possibility: "Uh, you were tossing the package to me, right?"

"Oh, don't worry about all that," Tsundae explained. "I was just referring to the fact that Sakura seems to have made up her mind to stay behind during this mission," The Fire Shadow looked past the group, still smiling, good-natured to the wandering kunoichi with the pink hair.

"Huh, what?" Sakura finally broke out of her mental grumblings. She blinked. "Oh, no, I'm coming along! Of course!" And she laughed, relatively well-acted.

"Oh, really?" asked Tsunade facetiously, "Because I could have sworn you weren't paying any attention to me..."

"What? O-of course I was!" Sakura waved her hand in front of her face, smile becoming a little lopsided opposite the way her body was becoming a little lopsided. "But, uh, why don't you go over the mission again, Lady Tsunade? You know, just in case anyone missed anything?"

Tsuande laughed, and Naruto, Kakashi, and even Sasuke controlled the urge to chuckle. "Anyone who missed anything can just get the info from their teammates later." Now, she was all business again. "Alright, unless there are any questions, you all should meet up at the front gates in a half-"

"Uh..." Naruto broke in, raising his hand.

Tsuande blinked. That was honestly the first time anyone had ever asked a question when she'd asked if their were any questions. It had gotten to the point where she had just said the sentence out of habit, without waiting for an answer. "Yes, Naruto?" the only female among the Sannin asked.

"Why don't you just use the ninja couriers?" Naruto asked. Quite reasonably.

There was a short silence.

"Ninja..." began Sasuke, looking somewhat disturbed. After having served Orohimaru for three years.

"...couriers?" Finished Sakura, shoulders slumping and head tipping in confusion.

"Long story," Naruto sighed.

"Too long," Kakashi agreed. Apparently he'd had at least one run-in with the (in)famous group as well.

_-What the heck did I miss when I left the Village?-_ Sasuke thought, frightened.

"Because the ninja couriers only visit here once every couple of weeks," Lady Tsunade shrugged. "We have regular postmen, after all."

"So is that your way of saying they visited yesterday and you forgot to give the package to them?" Naruto asked.

Tsuande growled, cheeks turning red. "Leave. Now."

"You're blushing!" pointed Naruto triumphantly as everyone else sweatdropped, for various reasons. "That means I'm right!"

Kakashi picked Naruto up and began carrying him out the door before he could even come close to continuing. "Alright, let's get going," the Copy Ninja said, just a little weary-sounding. His other two students followed wordlessly, slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, let me go! Put me down!" Naurto was not wordless or embarrassed at all, but was rather very protestful. "I said put me down! Aw, come on, Kakashi-sen-"

The soundproof door's closing thankfully cut Naruto off. Tsunade placed her head in her palm, reaching over for her cup of tea with the other. Then, she moved the first hand away from her face and under her desk, defeated expression never leaving her face. _-Good thing Shizune is taking leave today,- _the Fifth looked at her fifth of alcohol for a second before pouring a generous amount into the remainder of her tea. Not exactly a popular drink, but she needed the stuff it however she surreptitiously could get it at this point.

**0-0-0-0**

"And on top of that," Guy wrapped up his second big speech for the day (and it was only early morning), "If you took off your party hat, that would mean we'd have to take off ours, too!" He winked and smiled. "And believe me when I say that we're nowhere near done partying yet!"

Neji sat on a chair, slumping and defeated. "I see," he said evenly. _-I hope that appointment with Lady Tsunade opens up quickly...I can feel my psyche threatening to snap under all this stress.- _It was understandable he'd be upset; the whole speech was unnecessary. A simple 'No you may not' would have sufficed.

It would have sufficed _plenty._

"Hey, Lee," Tenten said to her teammate as if nothing was out of the ordinary (And, sadly, nothing was), "I've noticed something."

"What is it, Tenten?" Lee asked.

"Today, and when we came in to see how you were yesterday," Tenten slowly said, "I noticed that the bed next to yours...it's unmade." She moved her lips over to the side a little. "Like someone was lying in it recently. So I figured you'd gotten yourself a roommate."

"Yes, I have," Lee nodded, smiling more genuinely than he had all day. Not that his other smiles weren't genuine but, once again, they sported a hint of uncertainty at their edges.

"Yeah, I figured," Tenten repeated. "But I just wasn't sure 'cause I haven't seen him all day."

"That's true," Guy said, turning and resting his chin in his hand. "A person unwell enough to be staying in the hospital shouldn't be out of their bed for such extended periods."

"Which likely means that this person is in surgery," Neji pointed out. "And Lee is probably worried about them."

"Oh my gosh," breathed Tenten, "Oh, Lee, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think of that!" She placed her hands up, fingers laced together, pleading forgiveness. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it is alright," Lee said, smile breaking at the corners again. "I am sure Yoshe will be fine. She is a very strong person, after all."

"Well, that's a good outlook to have, Lee," Guy smiled. "After all, our believing in you is what has helped you get better so quickly. I am sure that your believing in your friend...wait." Something occurred to Guy, allowing his brain to catch up to the stunned silence of his two non-Lee pupils.

"Did you say 'she'?" asked Neji, a slight tone of disbelief in his voice.

"As in a _girl_?" Tenten continued the line of questioning rather obviously.

"Ah, yes, that confused me, too, at first." Lee agreed. He blushed slightly upon realization. "Er, that is not to say that I was confused about whether she was a girl at first...I mean..." he coughed. "Ahem. At any rate, the hospital is apparently very busy at this point in time. They ran out of room."

"Ah-ha! So they had to move this Yoshe to a vacancy _somewhere_ in this hospital, and you didn't have a roommate!" Guy deduced. "Hmm. 'Yoshe'. A fine name! I wholeheartedly approve!" Thumbs up and wink and suddenly Guy was Nice Guy.

_-Poor thing,-_ thought Tenten. _-A gal needs her privacy sometimes. Hard to get it with a boy in your room.- _She sighed. _-At least it's Lee and not some pervert who's with her.-_

"That is all absolutely correct, Guy-sensei," Lee enthused, thumbing-up as well. His face became serious again, hand opening , then dropping to normal position. "Oh, but there is one thing that I hope you all will take into consideration. Neji is correct: Yoshe is in surgery right now. But when she comes back, please refrain from making the same mistake that I made when I first met her." The Handsome Devil groaned, a sad groan, a soft groan, as he looked down at the ground. "She does not like to be stared at."

Lee's team took these words in silence, and continued the silence as they contemplated those words' meaning. The somberness of the moment was kind of ruined, though, by the party hats.

**0-0-0-0**

"Remind me again why we're out here, Hinata?" Kiba asked, drawing bored circles on the ground. He was also bored.

"Bark, bark." And his little dog, too.

Hinata had been continuously pacing back and forth just outside the gates of town, much to the two usual guards' amusement. At Kiba's words, she stopped and turned. "Um," she tried to dodge the question, "You two d-don't have to wait for me."

"We're supposed to be training you," Shino spoke up. "That is a little hard to do with you not there, is it not?"

"Well, you two need to train, too, right?" Hinata asked, blushing growing larger.

"Yeah," Kiba stretched his word as he similarly stretched, "But believe it or not, Hinata, we actually get a good amount of training in training you." He smiled. Not 'grinned', not smiled 'wolfishly', not 'smirked', just smiled. "I know you don't think so, but you're actually pretty darn strong!"

"Indeed," nodded Shino. "We usually have to expend all our energy just to keep up with you." He looked directly at Hinata. "The main thing that needs work isn't your technique. It's your confidence. If you work on that, you could be the strongest of any of us." His glasses shimmered as he shifted in his coat. "Even Kurenai-sensei."

Hinata was blushfully stunned for a couple of seconds. "R-really?" she whispered.

"Nah, not really," Kiba smirked. "You're pretty strong, alright, but I'll always be the strongest!"

"Grr..." Akamaru growled.

"Hmm? What is it, boy?" Kiba asked his pup, who in response bit him on the ankle. The sensitive part of Kiba's ankle. "YEOW! Alright, alright, Hianta's the strongest of us! Now let go, will ya?"

Hinata giggled, and Shino even smiled a little. "Amusing," he almost laughed.

Hinata revealed a radiant smile. "Thank you very much for saying so, Akamaru," she bowed to the doggie.

"Hey, what about me?" Kiba growled, stomping on the ground and balling his fists in front of his waist after raising them above his head. Before anyone could respond to him, though, Izumo (one of the guards) spoke up.

"Hey, Kakashi! You and your team on a mission?" he asked, causing Hinata's ears to almost literally perk.

"Oh, _that's _what we've been waiting on," Kiba crossed his arms, unsure whether to say what he was saying in a friendly mocking tone or an angry and annoyed one. "I probably should have seen that coming." Shino, meanwhile, simply raised his eyebrow, stepping forward a little to better see the team headed towards the gate.

Hinata, meanwhile, was turning, excited. "Naruto!" she exclaimed. "Huh?"

Kakashi...Sasuke...Sakura...nope, no Naruto. "Hey there, Izumo, Kotetsu," Kakashi nodded at the guards.

"What's up?" responded Kotetsu, though it was really more of a statement than a question.

"Yep, C-rank mission for all of us. It's actually been a while since we've had a good old-fashioned mission," Kakashi told the truth, technically.

"I hear that," Kotetsu replied, sitting back in his chair.

"Hey there, guys," Sakura, now sufficiently caught up with everything, waved to the Team directly across from her. "You got a mission too, huh?"

"Um...not really..." Hinata murmured, suddenly embarrassed, as she played with her fingers.

"Oh." Sakura started, slightly. "Well, then, why are you here?"

"Um...well..."Hinata felt like stuttering and was trying not to.

"We were supposed to be training Hinata today," Shino broke in suddenly, "But our trainee has apparently decided that she would rather wait here to see her boyfriend."

"Shino," Kiba turned to him, startled, as Hinata gasped, turning to him as well. Shino was not usually that blunt, to understate what was currently happening. "What's gotten into you?"

As everyone else looked on, confused and astonished: "Wh-what?" Hinata finally stuttered. "Sh-Shino, I-"

"I'm glad that Naruto reciprocates your feelings, Hinata," Shino glared, or at least appeared to. Sunglasses and all. "But this is the second day in a row that your feelings have interrupted our training." His eyebrows creased, and that was actually obvious. Even more obvious was the tone in his voice, barely there, barely even angry. But then, Shino usually didn't have much tone to his voice at all. Plenty of emotion at times, but almost never any tone. "Perhaps it is not apparent to you, but the world does not revolve around-"

"Hey guys!" interrupted an oblivious yellow-headed ninja, grabbing everyone's attention (as he was wont to do). "Sorry I'm late, but I had to change into my new outfit!" Everyone looked up to the top of the guard's stand somewhere around the middle of this sentence, and there sat Naruto Uzumaki, in some 'new' black and orange duds. A couple sizes smaller, but otherwise identical to the outfit he'd commonly wear in the future. The ninja youth grinned, then jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet, doing a little twirl, throwing out his arms, and laughing. "You like it?"

A short silence, brought on by the awkwardness of the situation, occurred at this point.

"Woah, lookin' sharp, Naruto!" Izumo praised, mostly out of a desire to change the subject to something more comfortable. Also because Naruto really did look good.

"So that's what you wanted the extra cash to buy," Kakashi smiled, trying to get the conversation moving away from the former awkwardness as fast as possible. "And here I thought you were just using the 'new clothes' excuse to get some extra ramen in."

"Wow..." breathed out Sakura. "Look at you!" _-And here I was thinking he didn't care about how he looked!- _She tilted her head to the side. "So why the sudden change?"

"Eh, this outfit's a little bit less conspicuous than my old one, you know?" Naruto looked down at it.

"I'll say," mumbled Sasuke, his first time speaking up in a while.

Naruto grinned. "Also, so I could look good for...Hinata?" he turned, proving he'd actually known she was there all along. "Hee, hee. Well, do I look good?"

"You look very d-dashing, Naruto," Hinata smiled, her heavy blush confirming her words. "I l-like it!" _-Mmph. I hate that I still stutter like that.-_

"Thanks, Hinata," Naruto smiled, clutching the straps of his backpack and walking over to her.

"I hate to admit it," Kiba smiled, shrugging, "But you look pretty darn good...for a goofball."

"Thanks, Kiba!" said Naruto in a sincere tone of voice. "You don't look too bad yourself for a mutt."

"Okay, that was crossing the line," Kiba said, slightly angry.

"Sorry," Naruto said, just as sincerely, and without the smile.

"Woof," complimented Akamaru, simultaneously urging Kiba to accept the apology. One would have to understand a dog's language to understand how Akamaru could say all that in a single syllable.

Kiba sighed. "Apology accepted," he smiled. Then, unconsciously, he looked towards Shino. As was everyone else. If Shino could compliment Naruto, everyone could stop half-acting and just be sincere about, well, about everything, and the subject of Hinata's waiting on Naruto would officially have been dropped. As it probably should be. And Shino knew this; knew he should probably say something nice about Naruto's outfit, or at the very least acknowledge Naruto in some way.

There was another silence, this one of indeterminate length.

"I'm going to the practice field," the Aburame finally said, lowering his head. He sounded...ashamed?...as he walked off, slightly more slowly than usual.

"Guh...gah," Kiba inarticualted as he watched Shino. "I gotta go," he apologized to everyone. "Hey, Shino!" he called after his friend, half angry and half concerned and one hundred percent confused as he rushed after the bug user, Akamaru following his master's heels.

"Oh," Hinata looked back and forth between Naruto and her teammates before making a decision. "I'm sorry, Naruto!" she cried. "Shino, Kiba, please, wait up!" she called after the two, running off. She looked back over her shoulder as she ran, calling back to Naruto: "Good luck on your mission!"

Team Kakashi looked after team Kurenai for several seconds. "Well," Sasuke finally said. "I didn't see that coming."

"Hmm. And, unfortunately," Kakashi Hatake shrugged, "I don't think there's anything we can do for them, and Kurenai's on a mission of her own, as far as I know." He thoguht for a moment, reconfirming his suspicions of what he guessed to be the reality of the situation. "I guess they'll just have to deal with this on their own."

"Yeah, I guess so," Sakura said sadly. She hiked up her backpack and began walking out of the village along with Kakashi.

"Time to go, then," Sasuke said quietly and not that sadly, though that didn't necessarily mean he didn't feel sorry for the Team that had just left. He left shortly after Sakura.

"Right," said Naruto after a few more seconds. Then, a couple more, and he turned as well, following after Sasuke.

Another couple of seconds.

"Naruto!" Hinata suddenly cried.

Sasuke groaned a little as everyone else turned. "Hinata?" Naruto confused himself, looking back to the girl running up to him.

She stopped in front of him, panting. "I'm sorry...but I changed my mind...I decided...to stay and say goodbye..." she gasped out. She swallowed, then stood, holding out her hand. "Here."

Naruto blinked down. In Hinata's hand was a pair of "Chopsticks?"

Hinata nodded. "Mm-hmm," she said of the rather-fancy-for-wooden-eating-utensils item. Orange 'handle', a couple of small hearts carved into the side of the wood. "It's to thank you." The heiress of the Byakugan blushed again. "For choosing me to be your girlfriend."

Naruto smiled."Thanks, Hinata," he softly whispered, picking up the sticks as if they were made of some fragile, precious gem. Which, to him, they were.

"Now whenever you're eating ramen, you can think of me!" Hinata smiled, blushing a little more and barely able to restrain her joy. Meanwhile, the guards watched the kids with a half-serious air of enchantment on their faces.

Naruto grinned at her. "Trying to make me think about you all the time, huh?" She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. He laughed too. "Like you need to do that when I already do." And after this comment, they just kind of smiled at each other, blushing, of course.

"AWWWWWW!" shouted Sasuke in a tone that suggested pure, unadulterated annoyance. He shook his head, exasperated. "Can we go now?" Izumo and Kotetsu laughed heartily at this.

"Oh, Sasuke..." Sakura sighed, unsure whether to be angry at or feel sorry for her...friend...who was a boy...who liked her?

"Not just yet!" Naruto shouted back at him, just as annoyed, while Hinata turned sideways away from him and twiddled her fingers. She stopped the twiddling and went wide-eyed as Naruto bent down, just a tiny bit, and kissed her on the cheek. "See ya later, Hinata," Naruto grinned that grin, before he went running off. "Okay, you guys! Let's get on that mission!"

Hinata stared after him, wide-eyed, mouth slightly open. "Geez, where'd the sudden burst of energy come from?" Sakura incredulously asked.

Then the pale gray girl noticed the guards still watching, no longer mocking. They seemed genuinely 'aww'ed and unembarrassed by Naruto's display. Quite unlike how Hinata felt...but she also felt happy, and sad too. "Seriously," Sasuke mumbled, and yet somehow made that mumbling heard loud and clear. "What, do you inject yourself with pure caffeine each morning?"

"You're just jealous!" Naruto called back to his rival.

At the same time, Hinata (ability to think of good reasons to leave bolstered by her embarrassment) realized she should hurry up in order to catch up to Shino and Kiba and Akamaru again. _-Confident,- _she thought to herself as she ran off. _-I was so confident yesterday...why couldn't I be confident again today?-_

And at the same time, from a moderately nearby treetop, Kidōmaru (who had drawn the short straw) was on lookout duty. He smirked. "Hmph. How sweet." he mocked, even though he was the only person there who could possibly hear him. Drawing out a contact scroll and throwing it on the branch, he continued speaking to himself. "Heh. It's about time they left."

The contact scroll unrolled, and began pulsing with a glowing power. Eventually ,the power solidified, and for the second time in a week, Sakon appeared upon the other side. "So, they've finally decided to get going, then?" the two-headed beast asked the spidery child, as no introductions were really needed. Business calls only, this scroll.

"You bet," Kidōmaru's mouth grew in size. Some darkness-minded people might call the expression 'smiling', but most people would simply call it 'bloodthirsty'. "You know, I could just wait for them to get a little further from the Village, and then I could pick them off, one by one, without ever moving from this spot."

"So why won't you?" Sakon asked, not knowing the reason, but knowing there must be one, otherwise Kidōmaru would have just done it, not talked with him about it.

The ponytailed one sighed, reality coming down heavy on him. "Because we need to take Sasuke alive, and taking the rest out from too great a distance would only allow him to get back to the village and warn them," he grumbled. Then, with the mouth thing coming back: "So, how were the bandits?"

"Easy as pie," the basically-a-hologram chuckled, kicking an unseen figure whilst he was down. "One of them managed to scratch Jirōbō's arm, but that's the extent of the injuries here. The camp is ours, and the ambush is prepared."

"Heh, heh, heh," Kidōmaru chuckled as well. "Cool," he breathed as the figure from the scroll slowly faded. Then, rolling the paper up and placing it in his pocket, the young man leapt from the tree he was standing on and into the trees heading towards the mountains.

* * *

Yeah, that's right. I made reference to _that _filler episode. And that one, too!

As a side note, a hint for those of you have not yet figured out the One Piece reference: It's the manga's author's name, hidden somewhere in this chapter. I know ,that doesn't help much, so if you're still having trouble, check right after the Omake.

Ah, yeah! Omake!

**OMAKE #7**

I don't know what I was thinking when I said that last chapter's Omake was my longest yet...more like nowhere near. Anyway, yet ANOTHER deleted scene pops up here, and you can see a lot of the work in progress in this one. For instance, I always type out certain characters' names minus accent markings, because it's always too, heh, troublesome to add in the special symbols while I'm typing. Then, I just 'Find and Replace' their names however many times I need to, with one copy-pasted name. So, yeah, part of the work in progress is that the accented character's names haven't been swapped out yet.

Anyway, the plotline: Yesterday, storywise, the Sound Four meet to discuss their strategy for snatching up Sasuke for some of their dark master's darker experiments. Though this scene is deleted, it is partially canon in that the strategies discussed herein still apply to how they plan on going about their nefarious scheme. So ,yay, bonus insight on future chapters for those who bother to read the author's note and/or omakes!

Why did I end up deleting this scene? Becuase I have limits to how far I will stretch someone being OOC, and this is about it. I considered rewriting the whole thing more in character, but couldn't figure out how to do it. So, deleted scene, and rewrite without them.

**0-0-0-0**

"Are you sure about this, Sakon?" Tayuyua asked, eyebrow raised. "This all seems awfully convenient, you know."

Sakon grinned a little more. "Positive," he said, words almost sliding from his tongue they were so smooth. "Though, of course, if you truly believe this be a trap, feel free to stay behind and look after the Village." The grin turned wicked as a sandpapery texture leaked into his words. "I'll make sure to let Lord Orchimaru know that you refused to come along the mission."

Tayuya glared at him, whilst Jirobo looked up toward the sky. Kidomaru looked at no one in particular, instead choosing to sit in a nearby tree and simply listen, keeping an occasional eye out for enemies of the Sound. Which was basically everybody. Finally, the girl sighed. "Alright, fine, I'm in. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," responded Sakon. He turned. "Jirobo, Kidomaru, I assume you two shall be joining us tomorrow morning as well?"

"Eh, so long as we get to kill someone tomorrow, I'm good," Kidomaru said. He was usually bloodthirsty, but usually not this much so. Perhaps everyone was a bit on edge?

'Jirobo' not being counted among 'everyone'. "So who are we up against, exactly?" All business. But then, the rotund shinobi was never one to lose his cool, though occasionally he might let it go amuse itself for a little bit while he took care of some issue or another.. "What conditions?"

"I'll be performing a bit more intel on that last part," Sakon said, "But I do know the info on the first."

"You're acting awful smug for someone who only knows half of what our mission even is," pointed out Tayuya.

"Shut up," Sakon grumbled, the cracks in his proud veneer showing themselves under Tayuya's scrutiny. "At any rate, you probably know these people already, considering our briefing, but I'll repeat their descriptions..." And here he looked up into the trees. "..just in case SOMEONE wasn't listening!"

"I've heard every word ya said, four-eyes," Kidomaru responded, waving his hand in dismissal.

Sakon sighed, shaking his head. "I'm certain you have. Alright, our main target: Sasuke Uchiha. The only one we have to take alive," he smirked, "Though Lord Orchimaru didn't mention exactly _how _alive he should be." The other three there actually chuckled. A rarity, really. They didn't like each other much. "Very powerful, once under consideration for Orochimaru's new host body. The fact that this consideration has formed into a definite 'no' is everything our mission is about."

"Because Lord Orochimaru wants to know why he said no, right?" Jirobo asked.

"Exactly," Sakon nodded, then continued. "As for the other three who will be travelling with him...Sakura Haruno. Very girly girl, dresses in all pink. Basically no useful jutsu whatsoever. Can't imagine why they bother with her."

"Dibs," Tayuya said. Her eyes narrowed. "I hate girls like that."

"I notice you have pink hair, too," Kidomaru noted, pressing all the right buttons and knowing he was doing so.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU SOMEDAY, KIDOMARU!" Tayuya shouted up into the branches.

"ANYWAY," Sakon shouted over her. Yakon woke up for a second, but went back to sleep the instant he noticed that nothing important was going on. "The other two. Ahem." He rubbed his throat, for shouting was never good on his sensitive chords. "Naruto Uzumaki. Slightly more worrisome that the little miss Haruno, but not by much. The class clown and class failure by all standards of both those words. He does have the Shadow Clone Jutsu, though, so be careful you're not approaching a fake when you start sneaking up behind him." The self-appointed leader of the group frowned, creasing his eyebrows. "Our only real problem in the bunch is Kakashi Hatake."

"The copy ninja?" Kidomaru poked his head over the side of the branch, finally serious. Jirobo's eyes widened, and Tayuyua simply looked worried. Very worried.

"The one and only," Sakon grumbled. Then he brushed some hair from his eyes. Or, rather, the normally-uncovered one. _-Hmm,-_ he thought. Not normally the strategist of the group, but Sakon could still come up with a good idea every now and then. "Kidomaru, I'm going to assign you to take out Kakashi. From a distance, if possible."

"WHAT?" Kidomaru reared back, somehow managing not to fall off the branch he was crouched on. Sweat began forming on his forehead. "Hey, if this is about all those times I made fun of you, man-"

"Oh, no, no, no," Sakon interrupted, "No matter what you might think, I'm not assigning you to assassinate Kakashi because I want you to die. No, quite the opposite. Though..." he put on the appearance of deep thought for a few moments, as if he needed to actually think about what he had already planned on saying. "...I would suggest attacking from a distance, to kill. And on the left side of him, as well. Make sure, no matter what else you do, that you attack him from the left. Unless you want to die after all?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I can take that advice," Kidomaru responded hastily. "Yep. No prob." He leaned back, half sulking and half scared out of his mind. "I'm _sure_ I can take out Kakashi Hatake, no problem."

Sakon smiled. "Well, then, that just leaves the two boys to you and I, Jirobo." He thought some more. "So which one would you prefer to take care of?"

"I'm fine either way," Jirobo shrugged.

"All right, then," Sakon said. "Well, I suppose-"

"Jirobo should take Naruto," Kidomaru interrupted.

The other three looked up at him. "What? Why?" Tayuya asked. "I mean, what makes Jirobo so flippin' special?"  
Before Jirobo could scold Tayuya, the spidery one responded: "Easy. This Naruto kid can make Shadow Clones, right?" He raised up his finger, grinning. "So all we've got to do is keep him trapped in that Earth Dome Prison of yours, Jirobo!"

Jirobo thought, then nodded. "Makes sense to me." He looked to Sakon then. "Though what doesn't make sense is why we're bothering splitting everyone up. My Prison would catch all of them quite handily."

"Because both Kakashi and Hatake are in possession in the Chidori, also called the Lightning Jab." Sakon's eyes narrowed. "Emphasis on the 'Lightning'. As in, that stuff your 'Earth' dome Prison is weak to?"

"Point taken," acknowledged Jirobo.

"Not to mention that we have to leave Sasuke alive," added on Kidomaru.

"I said, point taken," Jirobo growled a little. Now even he was starting to lose his cool. Everyone really was on edge.

"If you ladies are done talking," Tayuya, annoyed, interrupted, "Can we go now? I'm sick and tired of this stupid Village and I've only been here like, a day."

"Patience," Sakon intoned, slowly, as if to drive his point further home. "Nothing will happen until tomorrow morning."

"Seriously?" Tayuya grumbled, already knowing the answer, as evidenced by her sinking shoulders.

"Indeed," Sakon said. "So we have all night to eat, drink, think, and plan."

"And collect intel," Kidomaru spoke up. "We kind of need that, too."

"Will you shut up already?" Sakon shouted back at him. He began taking some deep breaths.

A short silence.

"So what kind of girls do you like, Tayuya?" Kidomaru finally brought what he had been wanting to say for a while.

It was lucky for the Sound four they were able to suppress Tayuya's swearing, because otherwise it could be heard for miles.

**0-0-0-0**

Yeah, it was mainly the Spider who was out of character here. Hello, author, he's the strategist, not the mocker of the group! Try harder next time.

Also: the author's name is the same as the Ambassador's name. I know that doesn't help much ,but maybe by some miracle it'll be what allows you to finally figure out where the author's name is located in this chapter.

So, be on the lookout for the next chapter, everybody, and let me know if you think something smells funny about my writing. Thanks muchly and God bless!


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